<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>A Field of Machines by TheWeatherOutside</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25918711">A Field of Machines</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWeatherOutside/pseuds/TheWeatherOutside'>TheWeatherOutside</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Thunderbirds Superhero AU [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Thunderbirds</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Family Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Supervillains, Wee Tracys, basically everyone has superpowers, mixture of past and present, now with bonus chapter 12!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:28:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>35,964</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25918711</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWeatherOutside/pseuds/TheWeatherOutside</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Being a family full of superheroes, they knew life was never going to be easy. But with their dad missing, machines destroying cities, and a supervillain that's hellbent on destroying their lives, the Tracy family may finally be at their limit.</p><p>Superhero AU!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Thunderbirds Superhero AU [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2177286</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>54</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Terror in New York City</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This story is finally almost done, so I thought what better day to start uploading it than on a certain bro's birthday!</p><p>If any of you have been reading my Bingo story, then you may have read my chapter where the boys all have superpowers. This first chapter is a direct copy of that story, and then the rest of this story is a continuation of that. I hope that all makes sense and that you enjoy! :D</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They were all out of the ship the second it touched the ground. His boots hit the gravel, and he stretched as he looked around at the city around them.</p>
<p>New York was just how he remembered it. Tall skyscrapers and bright lights. The sky was cloudy, and he was pretty sure it was going to rain soon.</p>
<p>However, what was out of the ordinary was that there was not a single soul on the streets. A piece of litter was blown across the vacant road in front of them, and Gordon was distinctively reminded of a tumbleweed in an empty desert.</p>
<p>“So, why are we here again?” Gordon asked his brothers.</p>
<p>Before they could answer, there was a loud crash that came from several blocks away, and the ground rumbled beneath their feet. A second later, a tall robot, almost as tall as the buildings around it, stepped out from behind a skyscraper and into their view.</p>
<p>“Never mind.”</p>
<p>“Do you know where it came from?” Virgil asked from behind Gordon.</p>
<p>“No idea,” John replied. “But apparently it’s been wreaking havoc on the city.”</p>
<p>“Alright, we can find out who’s responsible for it later. For now, we need to work on taking it down.” Scott came to stand in front of them. His hands were on his hips, like if anyone didn’t realise he was the leader of a team of superheroes, they would after seeing that pose. “Gordon, you try to freeze its movements whilst John and I work to take it down. Virgil, Alan, you two be prepared to knock it down.”</p>
<p>“FAB.” They all replied in unison, and then they were off.</p>
<p>Gordon created an icy path in front of himself so he could quickly slide down the street and towards the giant robot. He could feel the wind as he whipped by, and then he saw a blur as Alan sped past.</p>
<p>Gordon smiled to himself, knowing that Alan would never deny the chance to race his brothers. Gordon pushed himself a little faster, not wanting to give his little brother the satisfaction of getting there first.</p>
<p>Gordon slid to a stop as he reached the end of the street. He hopped off his icy trail as he came to stand next to Alan.</p>
<p>“You took your time,” Alan raised an eyebrow at him as he crossed his arms.</p>
<p>“Not everyone is the fastest man alive. And at least I got here before those slowpokes.” Gordon pointed over his shoulder at their brothers who were still running behind them, only halfway down the street. Their powers were definitely not useful when it came to getting somewhere fast.</p>
<p>Alan laughed as he looked over at them, and Gordon let out a chuckle too, before he sobered up and turned back to the situation at hand.</p>
<p>They were much closer to the robot now, practically standing beneath it. It looked much taller closer up, and they made sure to stand back from its feet, for they would be flattened like pancakes if they got underneath one.</p>
<p>“Time to get to work!” Gordon called with a smile. He always loved this bit.</p>
<p>He held his hands out, palms facing towards the big, mechanical monster in front of them, and fired.</p>
<p>Ice shot out from his hands and immediately hit the robot’s feet, freezing it in place. Gordon kept firing, strengthening the ice and letting it grow up its legs.</p>
<p>The robot noticed what was happened quickly, as Gordon had halted its movements. What could only be described as a growl escaped that was likely meant to be the robot’s mouth.</p>
<p>The robot’s head bent down to search for what was responsible, and when it saw Alan and Gordon standing there, it growled again. It was accompanied by a loud cracking sound, and when Gordon looked back at the frozen feet, the ice was splitting.</p>
<p>“Uh, that’s not meant to happen,” Gordon mumbled.</p>
<p>“What’s happening?” Scott asked from next to him. He sounded a little out of breath and there was sweat on his forehead. Any other time, Gordon would have made some joke about him being slow in his old age.</p>
<p>Instead, he pointed to the ice cracking as the robot broke free. Gordon tried to fire more ice at the robot before it could escape, but this time it was prepared, and the ice couldn’t stop it for long before it was moving again.</p>
<p>“Get out of the way!” Scott yelled as the robot broke free of the final chunks of ice and stepped towards them.</p>
<p>This close, the steps felt like small earthquakes beneath their feet, and Gordon struggled to stay upright as he ran away from the robot as it stepped closer to them, trying to squish them like ants.</p>
<p>“What now?” Gordon yelled over their comms, now too far from them to speak normally.</p>
<p>“We keep trying to take it down!” Scott yelled back.</p>
<p>Once Gordon was in a safer position, slightly further from the robot than he was before, he glanced over at his oldest brother just in time to see him hold his hands out and shoot electricity blasts from them.</p>
<p>The sparks of electricity hit the robot in the chest. By all accounts, the robot should have been affected in some way by the electricity, it being a hunk of metal and made up of its own electrical currents. However, it didn’t even flinch, no matter how much electricity bolts Scott shot at it.</p>
<p>“It’s not working. Why isn’t it working?” Gordon could practically picture the frown on Scott’s face, even though he was too far to see him properly.</p>
<p>Scott sent another frustrated bolt at the robot, but then Gordon noticed something.</p>
<p>“Wait, Scott, try that again. But this time, watch exactly where you’re hitting it.”</p>
<p>Scott sent Gordon a look across the street, but he didn’t question him and did as he said.</p>
<p>Just as the electrical bolt hit the robot’s chest, Gordon saw it again. A translucent screen appeared on the metallic surface of the robot, a honeycomb pattern flashing just briefly as the electricity hit, and fading away just as quickly as it had appeared.</p>
<p>“There! Did you see that?”</p>
<p>“What was that? Some kind of shield?” Virgil asked, standing close enough to Gordon that he could hear his brother without the comm. Although, the communicator certainly helped Gordon hear over the low rumbles that echoed every time the robot moved.</p>
<p>“Seems like it,” John agreed. “There should be a way to disable it, we just need to find out how.”</p>
<p>“We might need to find out fast!” The alarm in Scott’s voice had them all looking back up at the robot, just in time to see it drive a fist into the side of one of the buildings.</p>
<p>Chunks of brick and glass shattered down at them, and they all fled to avoid the falling debris.</p>
<p>Gordon slid on an ice path out of the way. Whilst he moved, he turned to make sure his brothers had all managed to get away and was glad to see they were not near the debris as it all crashed into the street.</p>
<p>The robot drew its fist back, and Gordon saw in its hand a chunk of the side of the building that it had just ripped out. He had enough time to dodge out of the way again as the robot threw the piece of wall down at them.</p>
<p>It was moving fast. Quickly ripping apart buildings or picking up abandoned parked cars and throwing them at the brothers.</p>
<p>They all fell into a rhythm that was born from years of working together. They spread out, all using their powers to distract the robot and stop it from targeting just one of them, whilst they tried to find its weakness or a way to disable the shields.</p>
<p>Gordon dodged past a piece of shrapnel that came barrelling towards him, but just as he did that, there was a shrieking noise coming from his left.</p>
<p>He turned just in time to see a bus skidding along the street on its side, heading right towards him.</p>
<p>Gordon held his hands out and shot ice at the bus, aiming to freeze it in its place or at least slow it down enough so it wouldn’t hit him.</p>
<p>Although, the bus was moving at too fast a speed and Gordon couldn’t fire off enough ice quick enough to slow the vehicle down.</p>
<p>He could feel himself begin to panic as the bus just sped through his ice like it was nothing, barely slowing down. Gordon wouldn’t have time to move away before it reached him.</p>
<p>There was a long second where he debated whether he should either try to run away, or continue to fire ice blasts and hope for the best, before his decision was made for him.</p>
<p>A heavy weight hit his side and then everything blurred into one, before it all abruptly stopped as he felt himself smack into the hard gravel.</p>
<p>He was stunned for a moment, but then he blinked, and Alan’s face was in his.</p>
<p>“Gordon? Are you alright? I saw you were about to get hit so I pulled you out of the way. Sorry for crashing into the ground.” Alan was speaking a mile a minute and Gordon raised a hand to stop him.</p>
<p>“Al, it’s fine. Thanks for saving me.”</p>
<p>Gordon flashed a smile up at his brother and Alan offered one back.</p>
<p>He pushed himself to stand up, but as he moved his arm, a flash of pain was sent down it. He lifted the limb up, and found that when he hit the road, he must have skidded against it, as there was a long abrasion all up his arm. It stretched from his hand all the way to his elbow, and his suit was all torn to show it bleeding beneath his sleeve.</p>
<p>Alan winced as he saw it. “Ah, I’m really sorry. Does it hurt?”</p>
<p>“Nah.” That wasn’t quite the truth, it stung a hell of a lot, but there wasn’t anything that could be done about it right then. He’d live.</p>
<p>Gordon pushed himself up, putting the pressure on his uninjured arm as he stood up. He could see Alan looking at him worriedly, but Gordon ignored him by bending down to brush the dirt off his suit. New York wasn’t clean on the best of days, but now it was littered with shattered glass and crumbling chunks of brick and stone.</p>
<p>Gordon straightened and glanced back up at the robot. It was still terrorising the rest of their brothers by throwing debris at them. The ground and buildings shook when the robot lifted one of its feet and slammed it into the ground.</p>
<p>Gordon was worried that one of his brothers was going to not be fast enough to dodge a hit, but so far, they seemed to be doing just fine.</p>
<p>Gordon could see them temporarily hiding from the falling debris in a small alleyway, most likely taking a quick breather, and Gordon laughed as the robot turned in confusion, trying to find them.</p>
<p>But then his smile slowly fell, and was replaced with a furrowed brow as he tilted his head and took in the back of the bot.</p>
<p>The metal that made up the majority of the robot was of a light grey. However, on its back, there was a sizeable patch of darker grey, a rectangular shape that stretched from shoulder to shoulder.</p>
<p>“Hey, Alan.” Gordon nudged his brother to get his attention. He pointed up at the out-of-place patch of metal. “Does that look like…”</p>
<p>“A panel!” Alan turned to him in excitement. “That must be where the shields can be deactivated.”</p>
<p>Gordon grinned at the fact that his brother was thinking the same as him. But at that same moment, the robot, who had given up looking for their brothers and had instead found the two of them again, came barrelling towards them.</p>
<p>Alan dashed to the right and Gordon slid away on an ice path to the left of it.</p>
<p>“There’s a panel, on its back,” Gordon shouted over the comms to inform his older brothers. “I think that’s how we disable the shields.”</p>
<p>“FAB, Gordon,” Scott affirmed, and Gordon skidded over to where they were hiding.</p>
<p>“We need to find some way to get up to it,” Virgil said.</p>
<p>“Maybe I can wrap a rope around its legs and trip it over. Then we can easily climb up onto its back,” Alan suggested as he appeared next to them a moment later.</p>
<p>“And where do you think we’ll get a rope that long?” Gordon turned to his younger brother, a smile on his face as Alan realised he didn’t have an answer for that.</p>
<p>“I can send Virgil up there,” John piped up. “Then he can pry that panel off and deactivate the shields.”</p>
<p>“Sounds good,” Scott nodded. “You two work on getting onto its back, whilst the rest of us distract it.”</p>
<p>They agreed to their new instructions and then dispersed. Gordon sped around the robot, firing ice at its feet and arms to try and slow its movements down. It didn’t do much, but it at least distracted the bot enough for it to not notice his older brothers.</p>
<p>Gordon cast a glance past the robot to see Virgil and John.</p>
<p>Virgil was steeling himself for what was about to happen. His knees were bent and he was prepared for the next moment, when John would be sending him through the air.</p>
<p>Perhaps watching his brothers and not the gigantic robot in front of him was not the best idea, as Gordon missed when the machine ripped a streetlight out of the ground and began to swing it around.</p>
<p>Gordon only saw it a second before it reached him, too late to do anything to stop it.</p>
<p>It hit him straight in the chest and sent him flying off his ice path, slamming into the wall of the closest building.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Gordon slowly peeled his eyes open, his whole body aching. He was laying on the pavement at the side of the street, crumpled at the base of the building he’d just hit.</p>
<p>Everything hurt and he didn’t think he could push himself up. He looked up at what was happening around him and found that Virgil was already on the robot’s back, frantically pulling at the panel and trying to rip it off.</p>
<p>With his strength, it didn’t take long until the piece of metal was ripped off the robot’s back and sent crashing to the floor.</p>
<p>By this point, the robot had noticed what they were trying to do and was furiously trying to reach for Virgil and get him off its back.</p>
<p>Virgil clung on tightly as the robot spun quickly, trying to dislodge him.</p>
<p>“Is there something there for the shields?” Scott yelled up at him, and even through Gordon’s comm, the words sounded muffled.</p>
<p>“I- think so.” It sounded as if Virgil was speaking through clenched teeth, and Gordon watched as he hung from the robot with one hand, whilst the other hand reached into the exposed wires of the robot’s back.</p>
<p>Gordon saw sparks flying as Virgil started to rip the robot apart from the inside out. However, nothing about the robot changed. It still moved quickly; its anger prominent in its movements.</p>
<p>But then Virgil pulled his fist back and sent it flying straight into the robot. More sparks flew, but now they were accompanied by the shield being lit up over the whole body of the robot, before the whole thing flickered out.</p>
<p>The robot jerked as the shields were disabled and that was what finally caused Virgil to lose his grip and be sent tumbling to the ground.</p>
<p>Gordon’s mind screamed at him to do something. He pushed himself up on aching limbs, only managing to lift his upper body off the ground.</p>
<p>He reached out with his already injured arm and fired ice at the ground beneath Virgil. He stretched it up into the air until it formed a slide.</p>
<p>Virgil hit the top in time and slid down the ice until he reached the bottom, unscathed.</p>
<p>“Thanks, Gordo,” Virgil said, sounding out of breath.</p>
<p>Gordon couldn’t find the energy in him to reply and instead watched as Scott sent several bolts of electricity at the robot again.</p>
<p>Now that the robot didn’t have its shields to protect it, the electricity attacked its body. Once Virgil was up again, he threw punches at the parts of the robot that he could reach, which were only the feet, and John threw up pieces of debris and dented the outer hull of the metal machine.</p>
<p>Under the assault, the robot fell to its knees, the impact making the whole ground rock.</p>
<p>The robot then slumped to the floor; its movements now stilled as it shut down.</p>
<p>And as its head hit the ground, so did Gordon’s, his energy depleted now the threat was eliminated.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Gordon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Out of all the brothers, Gordon was for some reason the first one to get his powers.</p>
<p>It wasn’t too much of a surprise to Jeff. He and Lucille had been expecting such a thing to happen from the moment the boys had been born, but it was still a bit of a shock when it actually came into fruition.</p>
<p>Both Jeff and Lucille had been preparing for it, for when their boys would inevitably get superpowers just like the two of them</p>
<p>From their own experiences, they knew that the boys would be born with their powers, but they never appeared on their own. There was always that one experience, that one moment, when they would kick in. When they would be unlocked for good.</p>
<p>Both parents were excited for when the day would finally come. It was just too bad that Lucille wasn’t around to see it.</p>
<p>It was just two months after the boys had lost their mother, and Jeff was at a loss of what to do.</p>
<p>It was still in the midst of winter in Kansas and Jeff was sat in his office, the snow lightly falling out of his window. Because of the weather, the boys were stuck inside. Not that Jeff would imagine they’d want to do anything even if the weather was nice. They didn’t seem to want to do anything anymore.</p>
<p>It wasn’t fair to them that they were all going through something that no child should have to experience. They should be allowed to just be kids.</p>
<p>That was when Jeff was struck with an idea that had him flinging his chair back and practically running out of the room in excitement.</p>
<p>He headed to the living room, where he found Gordon and Alan watching TV, although they didn’t seem to be all that interested in what was on. John was next to them on the sofa, reading a book.</p>
<p>“Boys.” All three heads turned to look at Jeff, their faces blank. “Get your coats on. We’re going out.”</p>
<p>“Where?” John put his bookmark in his book and then placed it next to him on the sofa, an eyebrow raised at Jeff.</p>
<p>“You’ll find out soon, just help your brothers get dressed for the outside.”</p>
<p>He left them at that, and then went upstairs to look for his other two sons.</p>
<p>Jeff reached Virgil’s room first and found the door was shut, indicating that he was inside.</p>
<p>Jeff knocked on the door, knowing the earful he would get from his preteen son if he entered without permission. He heard a quiet <em>“come in”</em> a moment later and he pushed open the door.</p>
<p>Virgil was sat on his bed, talking to Scott, who Jeff was somewhat surprised to see in Virgil’s room.</p>
<p>“What are you two up to in here?” Jeff asked as he leant against the doorframe.</p>
<p>“I’m helping Virgil fix his heater,” Scott replied and he pointed to the device against the wall.</p>
<p>Jeff didn’t know whether he should be proud at Scott for helping his younger brother, or hurt that they didn’t come to him for help, but he didn’t want to dwell on that now.</p>
<p>“Well, we can sort that out later. Right now, I need you boys to follow me downstairs. We’re going out.”</p>
<p>“Where?” Scott asked, and suddenly Jeff was beginning to see where John actually got his curious attitude from.</p>
<p>“I’ll let you know as soon as you get your coats on,” and with that he left, knowing that curiosity would get the two of them to follow him.</p>
<p>By the time Jeff reached the bottom of the stairs, John, Gordon and Alan were all in their coats. John was zipping up Alan’s coat, whilst Gordon attempted to do up his own.</p>
<p>Jeff went over to help him as Gordon had managed to get the zip stuck. Once he was done, he secured a scarf around Gordon’s neck and then gave him his bright yellow hat to wear, making sure that it covered his ears.</p>
<p>“So, where are we going, dad?”</p>
<p>Jeff turned to find that Scott and Virgil had both put on their coats like they were told, and were now watching Jeff expectantly.</p>
<p>“We are going to go out in the snow,” Jeff said as he put on his own coat.</p>
<p>“And…?”</p>
<p>Jeff sent his sons a look, but then laughed. “<em>And</em> we’re going to have a snowball fight, or build a snowman, or whatever you want to do. It’ll be fun!”</p>
<p>His three oldest sons watched him sceptically, but his youngest two were giving him wide grins.</p>
<p>“Really?” Alan was looking up at him with a toothy smile, looking so tiny all bundled up in his woolly hat and scarf. “Can we build the biggest snowman ever?”</p>
<p>“Course we can, Allie.” Jeff reached down to fix the hat on his head to make sure it was on properly, before he turned back to the rest of his sons.</p>
<p>Jeff could see that they wanted to come up with some excuse as to why they couldn’t go out, the lack of interest in what Jeff had planned clear on their faces. However, Jeff shot down anything they were planning on saying with one subtle gesture towards Gordon and Alan, and a look on his face that said <em>‘do this for them’</em>.</p>
<p>“Alright,” Scott grabbed a scarf, and it seemed that Jeff had gotten through to him. “But be prepared to all get pummelled by my snowballs.”</p>
<p>Virgil and John followed suit a couple of seconds later, getting just as bundled up as the rest of their brothers.</p>
<p>“You wish. I’m gonna beat you down with <em>my</em> snowballs.” Virgil gave Scott a playful shove and then he was out the door, followed closely by Gordon and Alan, and then John.</p>
<p>Scott moved to follow, but Jeff placed a hand on his arm to stop him.</p>
<p>“Thanks, Scott.” Jeff sent him an appreciative smile.</p>
<p>“No problem.” Scott gave him his own smile, and then he was following his brothers.</p>
<p>Jeff let him go and then joined his sons outside in the snow.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Jeff took the five of them over to one of the fields nearby. It was large and the snow was thick as it covered every blade of grass, creating a white blanket that had yet to be broken by footsteps.</p>
<p>His boys were off the second they reached the edge of the field. Jeff barely had time to remind them to stay away from the lake that lined one side of the field, before a ball of snow hit him square in the face.</p>
<p>Jeff blinked the snow out of his eyes and glanced around to search for his attacker. He found Gordon, who was standing nearby with a cheeky grin on his face.</p>
<p>“Oh, you’re gonna pay for that.” Jeff reached down and grabbed a handful of snow at his feet.</p>
<p>“No!” Gordon squealed as he ran away. Jeff went running after him, hearing Gordon’s laughter trailing behind him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They ended up spending hours out in the snow. Together, they made the biggest snowman they could, as per Alan’s request, and were now in the middle of an intense snowball battle.</p>
<p>The rules were that they each had three lives. If they were hit three times by a snowball, they were out, and the last person standing would win.</p>
<p>Each of them had time to build their own base and stack of snowballs, before the battle commenced.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, Alan was the first to go out, followed closely by Gordon despite their older brothers’ efforts to go easy on them. They didn’t seem to mind, though, as they went off to play their own game whilst they waited for everyone else to be out.</p>
<p>Jeff was down to his last life. He told himself it was because he was also going easy on his sons, when deep down he really knew it was because he had a terrible aim when it came to throwing snowballs.</p>
<p>He was ducked behind the small wall of snow he’d built up for his base, rolling up more balls of snow for ammo. Some snowballs came flying over, narrowly missing his head, but his wall kept him protected.</p>
<p>Once he had a fresh new pile of snowballs, he grabbed an armful of them and stood up over his wall.</p>
<p>“Prepare to lose a life, Scotty,” Jeff called out of his eldest, who still had all his lives left. He lifted one of his biggest snowballs and prepared to throw it. However, before it could even leave his hand, another ball of snow smacked him in the chest.</p>
<p>Jeff looked over to find Virgil’s head popping over the wall of his own base, his giggles being heard from across the field.</p>
<p>“Aww, c’mon, Virg. I thought we were gonna work together to take down Scott?”</p>
<p>“Sorry, dad.” Virgil didn’t sound sorry at all. “But there’s no teams in a snowball fight. Only losers.”</p>
<p>Jeff frowned at that statement as he dropped his snowballs into a pile on the floor, but he couldn’t pretend to be annoyed at his son for long. The corners of his lips quirked up as Virgil continued to laugh, followed quickly by Scott and John. It was nice to hear them laugh again.</p>
<p>Now that Jeff was out of the battle, he decided to look for his two youngest sons. He cast his gaze around the field, and soon saw Gordon’s bright yellow hat a short distance away. He was chasing Alan as he tried to throw snow at his younger brother.</p>
<p>Jeff chuckled as he watched them go, but then his smile fell as he realised where they were.</p>
<p>“Alan, Gordon! Get away from the lake!” Jeff called over to them, but they didn’t seem to hear as they continued to run along the bank.</p>
<p>Jeff fell into a quick jog as he made his way over to them, hoping to reach them before something happened.</p>
<p>“Boys!” Jeff called again once he was closer. This time they seemed to have heard him as Gordon turned to look at him.</p>
<p>However, he didn’t slow down in his run and now he wasn’t looking where he was going. Jeff watched as Gordon slipped on the snow, and then in the blink of an eye he had disappeared behind the slope of the bank.</p>
<p>Jeff’s heart stopped as he heard the splash and his jog quickly turned into a sprint.</p>
<p>When he reached the lake, he found Alan kneeling on the bank and staring at the spot of water where the thin sheet of ice on the surface had been cracked and broken.</p>
<p>“Get away from the water, Alan,” Jeff told him sternly.</p>
<p>“But-” Alan was pointing at the water and still wouldn’t move, instead giving Jeff a look that was etched with fear.</p>
<p>“Get back, Alan!”</p>
<p>Later, Jeff would think about how he may have been a tad too harsh, but it still did the job of finally getting Alan to move back.</p>
<p>Jeff turned his attention back to the water, that had gone alarmingly still with no sign of Gordon emerging from the surface.</p>
<p>He wasn’t sure how long Gordon had been under for. It felt like time had been moving slowly since he first saw his two youngest at the edge of the lake, but he knew that just standing there was not going to do anything.</p>
<p>Jeff threw his jacket off, fully intending to dive into the water after his son. However, before he could take a step closer to the water, Gordon’s head suddenly broke the surface of the water, his bright hat soggy, but still firmly atop his head.</p>
<p>Gordon coughed and spluttered as he kicked his legs to keep himself afloat and tried to reach for something to grip onto.</p>
<p>Jeff didn’t hesitate to finally move forward and grab onto Gordon’s coat. Gordon’s hands grabbed onto Jeff’s arms and then Jeff was lifting him out of the water, even though Gordon’s waterlogged clothes were trying to weigh him down.</p>
<p>Gordon was past the point of shivering by the time Jeff placed him on the snowy bank, which sent alarm bells through Jeff.</p>
<p>He immediately shed Gordon of his wet coat, scarf and hat and then gave him his own discarded coat. Gordon just stood there whilst Jeff worked, barely reacting as Jeff went to zip the coat up. It wasn’t until Jeff’s hand brushed up against the skin of Gordon’s neck as he reached the end of the zip that he realised something didn’t seem right.</p>
<p>His skin was <em>warm</em>.</p>
<p>Not fever warm, but normal body temperature warm. Like he hadn’t just fallen into a frozen lake, <em>warm</em>.</p>
<p>Jeff placed his hand on Gordon’s forehead and again found it a steady warmth. The only cold he felt was from the water dripping off of Gordon’s hair that was flat against his forehead.</p>
<p>“Gordon, are you not cold?” Jeff asked, not knowing whether to be more concerned or confused. He was beginning to question if the reason that Gordon wasn’t shivering now, was because he hadn’t even been shivering in the first place. He wasn’t showing any of the signs of hypothermia that Jeff knew. If anything, he was just looking like he took a dip in the pool, fully clothed, in the middle of summer.</p>
<p>Gordon shook his head in reply. Jeff put his hand into the lake and found the water so cold he could barely keep his hand in it for more than a few seconds.</p>
<p>Jeff frowned as he knelt in front of his son. He was aware of the rest of his sons standing close by and watching them as they waited for Jeff to do something, which was enough for Jeff to snap out of his shocked state and finally do something.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Jeff ended up taking Gordon to the hospital just to be safe. Although, the doctor there just told Jeff that nothing was wrong with his son. He had said that maybe Gordon wasn’t in the water for long enough to get cold, but Jeff knew that just wasn’t quite right.</p>
<p>It wasn’t until they were back at home and his sons were safely in bed when Jeff finally discovered what was up.</p>
<p>He was making his way around each of his boys’ bedrooms to check on them. He wanted to check on Gordon first. However, as soon as he reached his bedroom door, it felt like he had stepped back out in the snow again.</p>
<p>There was a sudden chill in the air, and Jeff swore he could see an icy mist drifting out from the crack at the base of the door.</p>
<p>Alarmed, Jeff reached for the handle, but the door wouldn’t budge. He ended up having to throw his shoulder against it for the door to finally swing open.</p>
<p>What was on the other side was unlike anything he had seen before.</p>
<p>Every inch of the room was coated in ice. It cracked beneath his feet as Jeff stepped where carpet once was. There were even icicles hanging from the ceiling.</p>
<p>The only thing in the room that wasn’t covered in ice was Gordon.</p>
<p>His son was fast asleep, oblivious to the ice cube his room had become. His skin was still warm to the touch like it had been before, like he was completely unaffected by the cold. Jeff was already shivering after only being in there for a couple of minutes.</p>
<p>Jeff checked the window just to be sure, but he wasn’t surprised to find it sealed shut, because now he finally knew.</p>
<p>The first of his sons had finally got their powers.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A few bits of lore about Gordon's powers:<br/>-Gordon uses the water in the air to make his ice. If he were in a very dry place, like a desert, then he could theoretically use water from his body, but that would make him dehydrated quick so he would only do that in a dire situation.<br/>-Gordon has a high tolerance for cold temperatures. He's basically immune to getting hypothermia, and will only be at a risk of dying in very extreme temperatures.<br/>-He likes the sun a lot because it keeps him warm, as he always feels a little cold. He likes to swim because he can make little shapes in the water out of his ice.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Debrief</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gordon woke to the familiar smells of disinfectant and the sounds of low, continuous beeps that made him immediately realise he was in the island’s infirmary.</p>
<p>He couldn’t remember getting there, or even arriving back at the island, but the dull ache that he felt all over his body let him know why that was.</p>
<p>He slowly peeled his eyes open as the events earlier in the day came back to him. Of them taking down a giant robot that was terrorising New York City. Just another day on the job.</p>
<p>There was no one else in the room other than Gordon. A low light filtered in through the window as the morning sun began to rise, and Gordon realised that the time meant he had been asleep for several hours.</p>
<p>Gordon found one of his arms in a sling and with the way his chest hurt when he sat up, he realised he must have broken his ribs.</p>
<p>His legs ached when he swung them over the side of the bed, but they didn’t hurt enough to be the result of any injuries. So, he knew it would be safe for him to stand without worrying about collapsing in pain the moment he put weight on them.</p>
<p>Once he was out of the bed, he made his way out of the room to look for the rest of his family. He did stumble on his way out of the infirmary, but he managed to find his footing before he came across anyone, because otherwise he knew he would be sent straight back to bed.</p>
<p>As he approached the living room, he heard voices that sounded to be in the middle of some heated discussion.</p>
<p>Gordon turned the corner to find the rest of his family sat on the sofas in the pit. At this time in the morning, Gordon wasn’t sure if any of them had slept since they got back home hours earlier, or if they had only slept for just a short while.</p>
<p>They didn’t notice Gordon straight away, so Gordon just listened in on their conversation.</p>
<p>“Still nothing, Lady Penelope?” Scott asked, and that was when Gordon realised the aristocrat’s hologram was floating in the middle of them.</p>
<p>“I’m afraid not, Scott. Whoever made that robot did a good job of covering their tracks, and no one is admitting to making such a thing. I think it’s time to admit who was really behind this.”</p>
<p>“The Hood.”</p>
<p>At Scott’s words, Gordon stumbled under the weight of what they meant. The Hood wasn’t just a madman intent on bringing the world down for his own benefit. He was also the man responsible for their dad going missing.</p>
<p>If he was the one responsible for that robot, then it was now a question of why he did that, and what he was planning next.</p>
<p>Gordon’s stagger seemed to have alerted the others to his presence as they all turned to face him.</p>
<p>“Gordon? What are you doing up?” Virgil was the first out of his seat and over to Gordon. “You should still be in bed.”</p>
<p>“It’s fine.” Gordon brushed him off and then went to join the rest of his family in the pit.</p>
<p>It wasn’t fine, not really. Gordon was already feeling the effects of his injuries and whatever pain medication he had been given, as he felt like he was ready to collapse any moment if he didn’t sit down. He felt fine when he got up, but it seemed he had quickly exuded his energy. Not that he was going to admit that to Virgil.</p>
<p>Virgil didn’t appear to be too happy with his response as he came back to the sofa he had just stood up from, but with Gordon now sitting down, there wasn’t much he could do other than pick his brother up and carry him back to bed.</p>
<p>“You really think the Hood would do this?” Alan asked as he carried on with the conversation Gordon had walked in on. When Gordon looked over at his only younger brother, his face looked exhausted, which just confirmed Gordon’s theory further than none of them had slept yet.</p>
<p>“Who else would create such a thing just to cause destruction?” Virgil frowned as he leant forward in his seat, his elbows on his knees and his chin resting on his hands. “But if this really was the Hood, then what was he trying to do?”</p>
<p>“Destroy New York, by the looks of it.” Scott adopted the same position as Virgil, and Gordon would have laughed at the picture the two of them created side by side, if it wouldn’t hurt his ribs.</p>
<p>“No, that’s not like my uncle,” Kayo interjected. She wasn’t sat down like the rest of them. Instead, she was leant up against their dad’s desk with her arms crossed. Her furrowed brow showed them just how frustrated she was at this new problem. “He wouldn’t go through the effort of making a giant machine like that if it wasn’t for something bigger.”</p>
<p>What Kayo was saying was just what Gordon had been worrying about. This was not going to be just a one-time event.</p>
<p>They were all silent for a few minutes, but it was eventually broken by their Grandma.</p>
<p>“Whether it was the Hood or not, you’re not going to be stopping any bad guys dead on your feet. Now, to bed with all of you before we get another call in.”</p>
<p>She ushered them all out of their seats. None of them wanted to protest as they both knew that she wouldn’t take no for an answer, and that she was right. It wasn’t good for them to be up all night, stressing about something they couldn’t do anything about right now.</p>
<p>“I’ll see what I can find out on the Hood. I may be able to find something that connects him to this new problem.” Lady Penelope signed off with a goodbye, and then her hologram blinked away.</p>
<p>Gordon watched as his brothers and Kayo left the room one by one. Gordon stood to follow them out, but was stopped by the hand on his shoulder.</p>
<p>He turned and found his Grandma, who was giving him a sincere smile.</p>
<p>“What do you say, kiddo? You heading to bed or do you want me to make you some breakfast?”</p>
<p>Gordon’s eyes widened at the thought of having to endure his Grandma’s cooking.</p>
<p>“Uh, no thanks, Grandma. I think I will just go rest for a bit.”</p>
<p>His Grandma’s smile fell, but she nodded.</p>
<p>“I understand. Maybe I’ll make something for when you get up.”</p>
<p>Gordon felt terrible. He knew that it upset their Grandma that she could no longer help them when they were injured like she used to.</p>
<p>Her own powers were healing, but as she had gotten older, she had lost some of her control over her power, which is what happened to a lot of people with superpowers. There was now always a concern that she could hurt them rather than heal them, so they usually only let her tend to nothing more than small cuts and scrapes.</p>
<p>She now tried to make them feel better through other means, like cooking them meals, even if she was terrible at that.</p>
<p>Gordon didn’t want to make her feel any worse.</p>
<p>“Actually, I am quite hungry. Can I get some breakfast after all?”</p>
<p>His Grandma stopped in her tracks from where she had been walking away.</p>
<p>“Of course, kiddo! In fact, you can try my new omelette recipe.”</p>
<p>“Oh, yay!” Gordon feigned his excitement, remembering what happened the last time their Grandma tried a new recipe. But if it made his Grandma happy, Gordon knew it would be worth it.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. John</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So this story's gonna go back and forth between the current story line and when all the bros got their powers, which I hope doesn't get confusing XD</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gordon getting his powers had been a good distraction for them all. It was fun to watch him learn all the new things he could do as he gained control over his power.</p>
<p>Although, his brothers would be lying if they said they weren’t a little jealous of him. Even John, who at first had no interest at gaining superpowers.</p>
<p>A whole year had passed, and the rest of them had yet to gain their power. They were all aware of what was happening from a young age, after their parents had sat them down and explained the power inside them, but they had all never been so excited to unlock their powers until now.</p>
<p>They were now back at school after another long winter break. Not that it was long literally, as it was only two weeks off school, but it marked a whole year since the death of their mother, which made the whole holiday drag. John was actually glad to go back to school.</p>
<p>However, there was one thing that made him realise that the time off from school perhaps wasn’t so bad.</p>
<p>“Hey, Johnny boy.”</p>
<p>John tried to ignore the all-too-familiar voice and the footsteps behind him that came along with it, and instead concentrated on getting his books out of his locker.</p>
<p>“What, you’re just gonna ignore me?” This time the voice was accompanied by its owner leaning against the locker next to John’s, making it impossible for John to ignore them now.</p>
<p>Reece Wilson. He was in the same grade as John and shared most of the same classes. He was hell-bent on annoying John and making fun of him any chance he got.</p>
<p>“That was the plan,” John muttered as he pulled one book out of his bag and exchanged it with one from his locker.</p>
<p>“What was that?”</p>
<p>John’s locker was slammed shut, just narrowly missing John’s fingers as the sound of metal clashing reverberated throughout the hallway. John flinched at the sound and took a step back from the locker.</p>
<p>Reece was standing straight with his arms crossed as he stared John down, and John looked down at the floor.</p>
<p>“Nothing,” he said quietly.</p>
<p>The bell suddenly rang and John all but ran away to his next class before anything else could be said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>His next and final class that day was chemistry, which was one of his favourites. However, it was also one of the classes he shared with Reece.</p>
<p>It was usually easy to just ignore the other boy. Today, however, he seemed to have it out for John. Anytime John glanced over at him, Reece was sending John a glare, and it took everything in John’s power to just concentrate on his work.</p>
<p>Although, soon John was wrapped up in the experiment their teacher gave them to complete, and before he knew it, the bell was ringing again and it was the end of the school day.</p>
<p>The rest of the kids hurried out of the classroom the second they could, as it was a Friday and they were eager to get home for the weekend.</p>
<p>John stayed back and let the rush of kids get out first. He took his time packing his things up in his bag and making sure his lab space was tidy before he headed off.</p>
<p>He had thought that he was the last one left in the classroom, besides the teacher, so he was surprised when he heard someone approach him from the back of the room.</p>
<p>The person stopped right behind him, but didn’t say anything. It wasn’t until John turned around that he realised who it was.</p>
<p>“What do you want, Reece?” John threw on his backpack as he faced the other boy and waited for his answer. He just wanted to get whatever this was going to be over with quickly so he could go home.</p>
<p>“I just have a question.” Reece crossed his arms as he leant against the lab bench behind him. “What’s up with your brother?”</p>
<p>John frowned. “Which brother?”</p>
<p>“Your younger brother. The one in second grade.”</p>
<p>Gordon. John’s face hardened at the mention of his brother and he stood straighter.</p>
<p>“What about him?” John was protective over his little brothers, even his older ones, and he did not like anything bad being said about them.</p>
<p>“He’s a little weird, isn’t he? There’s just something off about him, and why is he off so much? Is he sick, or is it something else?”</p>
<p>“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” John’s fists were clenched at his sides and he tried to take a deep breath to calm himself down, but he couldn’t help but feel angry at those words that were said about his brother.</p>
<p>No one else knew that they had powers. Their dad wanted them to keep quiet on it as he was worried about how people would feel towards them, or what would happen if the wrong person found out. After Gordon had gotten his powers, he was off school for a short while until he got a better hand on it and wouldn’t accidentally freeze his classmates. That would raise <em>too many</em> questions.</p>
<p>Gordon had gotten better since then, but there were days his powers got slightly out of hand and he stayed home. John wasn’t too sure if anyone had noticed, especially in his grade.</p>
<p>“Or maybe he’s just too embarrassed to show his face here, because he has a brother like you.”</p>
<p>Reece was smirking at John. John had never been one for violence, but the desire to punch Reece’s smug face was hard to resist.</p>
<p>John turned to where the teacher had been sitting at their desk before in a hope that they would put a stop to this, but he found that they were no longer in the room.</p>
<p>“Then again,” Reece continued. “All your brothers are the same, even that little one in kindergarten. You’re all freaks. None of you should be here.”</p>
<p>“Shut up,” John muttered through clenched teeth. He was shaking with anger and he could barely contain it.</p>
<p>“What was that, Johnny?” Reece stepped closer and leant forward so his face was right in front of John’s.</p>
<p>“I said shut up! And don’t call me Johnny!”</p>
<p>John had squeezed his eyes shut, so he didn’t see what happened next, but he sure as hell heard it.</p>
<p>Glass shattered and there were loud bangs that sounded like things being thrown against the walls. Then, suddenly it was quiet again, eerily silent that made John slightly afraid to open his eyes again.</p>
<p>He slowly peeled his eyes open as he tried to catch his breath. He was breathing heavily but now that his anger was subsiding, his breathing started to even out.</p>
<p>The classroom was a mess. Beakers were shattered and stools had tipped over or had slammed against the wall. Anything that had previously been left on the lab benches were now scattered across the ground.</p>
<p><em>Did I do this?</em> John thought as he slowly uncurled his fists that had still been clenched, now that he felt slightly calmer.</p>
<p>John suddenly remembered that he wasn’t the only one in the room. He looked around for Reece, who was no longer standing in front of John, but instead was slumped against the wall at the back of the room.</p>
<p>John hurried over to him, filled with panic or worry, or both.</p>
<p>He wasn’t moving and his eyes were closed. He was dead. He was dead and John had killed him. John was going to go to jail for killing someone even though he had no idea <em>how</em>.</p>
<p>A groan came from below and John slumped in relief when he saw Reece moving. His eyes started to flutter open which was when John started to panic again.</p>
<p>He had to get out of there before anyone realised what he had done.</p>
<p>He didn’t think about it any longer. He turned and ran out of the classroom.</p>
<p>The hallway had already cleared out as everyone had rushed home, so no one could see him and question why he was running through the halls. He didn’t slow down until he burst through the doors and out into the front of the school.</p>
<p>There weren’t many people outside, which made it easy for John to spot his dad waiting with Gordon and Alan a short distance away.</p>
<p>John used the time it took to walk over to them to calm his nerves and get in control. He didn’t want to make a scene with still so many people around.</p>
<p>“Sorry I took so long,” he said as he reached them, hoping that his voice didn’t sound shaky.</p>
<p>“No problem,” his dad gave him a smile. “What were you doing?”</p>
<p>“Uh, just talking to the teacher about something.” John hated lying, and he stared down at the ground.</p>
<p>“Probably asking for more homework,” Gordon said, which made Alan giggle.</p>
<p>“Gordon.” Their dad warned, but then he shook his head with a chuckle and began to usher them over to the car. “Let’s head home.”</p>
<p>John was quiet on the ride home. He spent the whole time staring down at his hands and going over what happened in that chemistry lab in his head.</p>
<p>Was what really happened then because of him? Not that he was even totally sure on what happened. What made it all worse was that someone else was involved, and that someone would go running to tell everyone what had happened the first chance they got. That would not be good if they wanted to keep this all a secret.</p>
<p>John had been so wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn’t realise that they’d made it home until the doors of the car were opened. He snapped out of his thoughts and grabbed his bag from the car, before he followed his family into the house.</p>
<p>Gordon and Alan immediately ran off to their rooms or somewhere as soon as they entered the house, but John found himself unable to move from his spot by the door.</p>
<p>“Is everything alright, John?”</p>
<p>John looked up to find his dad watching him with concern, apparently having noticed John just standing there.</p>
<p>“Yeah, it’s just, I have something to tell you.” John knew that he had to tell his dad what had happened, especially if it was what he thought it was.</p>
<p>Jeff watched him for a moment, calculating what John could possibly want to talk to him about, before he gestured for John to follow him.</p>
<p>“Let’s talk in my office.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>John shut the door behind himself and turned back to his dad. Jeff was leant against his desk, his hands on the wooden surface and giving John a reassuring look as he waited for John to speak.</p>
<p>John was quiet for a long moment as he tried to work out what to say. His dad was patient as he waited, but John could see the concern growing on his face.</p>
<p>“There’s this kid at school,” John finally began. “He picks on my sometimes, but it’s nothing really, I can handle-”</p>
<p>“That’s not nothing. John, that’s- sorry. I’ll let you continue.” Jeff raised his hands in apology and went quiet again.</p>
<p>“Well, today he was saying all these things about me and my brothers and I just couldn’t take it anymore and I snapped and-”</p>
<p>“You got your powers.”</p>
<p>It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. John looked up at his dad in surprise.</p>
<p>“How did you know?”</p>
<p>“Take a look.” Jeff gestured to something next to John.</p>
<p>John turned and found several objects from the shelves in his dad’s office floating in the air. As soon as he saw what he was doing, the things dropped to the floor. A small plotted plant smashed against the ground and soil spilled across the carpet.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry!” John moved to clean it up, but was stopped by the hand on his shoulder.</p>
<p>“No need to panic; I always forgot to water that plant anyway.” Jeff had stood up from his desk and was smiling widely down at John. “But this is great! You finally got your power, and by the looks of it, it appears to be telekinesis.”</p>
<p>“That’s not just it. There was another person there! He saw what I did! Not only that, he had some questions about Gordon, too. I think he knows.”</p>
<p>Jeff frowned as he thought about John’s words.</p>
<p>“Leave that to me. You don’t need to worry about that, okay?”</p>
<p>John nodded hesitantly. “Yeah, okay.”</p>
<p>Jeff smiled at him again.</p>
<p>“Now, go join your brothers.”</p>
<p>Without another word, John left the room. He felt slightly calmer about the situation, but now there was something new he felt. Excitement about knowing what his power was, nerves from knowing how hard it was going to be to learn to control them, fear from not knowing if another thing like today would happen again.</p>
<p>However, what John didn’t know was that as Jeff watched his son leave his office, he was already brain storming ideas on how he could keep his sons’ powers hidden from prying eyes. But also he was thinking about an idea he had tucked away in the back of his mind a while ago. Now, it was at the forefront of his mind, and he couldn’t help but consider it with his sons quickly unlocking their powers.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>-After this moment, John tries his hardest to stay calm and keep a level head, as he fears something like this will happen again and he will hurt someone, or worse his family.<br/>-John's powers are the ones that are most likely to be affected by his emotions, which is why he's the calmest and quietest one of their family.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Distress Call</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A couple of weeks passed without any more robots or signs of who was responsible for the incident in New York. Lady Penelope was still looking into it for them, but the rest of International Rescue focused their attention back on saving those that needed them, and they threw the incident to the back of their minds.</p>
<p>Well, everyone except John.</p>
<p>It wasn’t like a robot terrorising a popular city was an abnormality in their line of work. Although, maybe never quite to this extent, but they were accustomed to inventors and somewhat crazy scientists who made inventions that ended up going a tad too far.</p>
<p>However, there was something about this latest incident that John couldn’t get out of his head. It invaded his thoughts, and even though he knew that it was pointless to dwell on something that was likely small and unimportant, it didn’t <em>feel</em> small and unimportant.</p>
<p>He didn’t talk about it with anyone else because he just wanted to forget it. However, he knew that with brothers like his, it wouldn’t be dropped so easily.</p>
<p>“What’s on your mind?”</p>
<p>John was snapped out of his thoughts as Virgil broke the silence that had settled over the ship. The two of them were on their way to rescue a group of miners that had gotten trapped after their mine had collapsed and they were without the correct tools to dig their own way out. The two of them had sat in silence most of the ride, until Virgil eventually broke it.</p>
<p>“Nothing’s on my mind. What makes you think that?” John looked over to find Virgil watching him, his brow raised as he saw past John’s obvious lie.</p>
<p>“Because you’re quiet. Like, I know you’re <em>always</em> quiet, but you’re somehow quieter than usual.”</p>
<p>“You’re just saying that because you spend so much time with Gordon,” John said, rather than question how someone could be <em>quieter</em> than quiet.</p>
<p>“Also, you have this thinking face. Where your brow gets all furrowed and your eyes squint and you-”</p>
<p>“My face does not- okay, <em>fine</em>. I was thinking about something,” John finally relented, knowing that Virgil was not going to drop it until he got the answer he wanted.</p>
<p>Virgil didn’t say anything and John knew that he was waiting for him to continue and speak his mind. John sighed, before he began.</p>
<p>“I’ve just been thinking about that robot in New York.”</p>
<p>“Is that because we still haven’t found out who did it? Or because of the Hood’s possible connection to it?”</p>
<p>They all knew how each other felt when it came to the Hood. He being the one that caused their dad to disappear without a trace two years ago, or at least who was suspected of being responsible. It was understandable that any mention of him would put any one of their family on edge.</p>
<p>However, that wasn’t quite what had John’s mind occupied.</p>
<p>“No, it’s not that, not quite. It’s just, that robot, did you think there was something- I don’t know… <em>familiar</em> about it?”</p>
<p>John wasn’t sure if he was making much sense. Despite how long he’d spent thinking about it, his thoughts were still a jumbled mess.</p>
<p>Although, Virgil wasn’t looking at him like he wasn’t making sense or like he was crazy. In fact, he was looking at John like he knew exactly what he meant.</p>
<p>“It reminds you of dad, right?”</p>
<p>John was not expecting Virgil to hit the nail on the head, at least not so accurately or so soon, and he was stunned into silence for a moment before he gained his composure and could speak.</p>
<p>“How did you know that?”</p>
<p>Virgil just smiled sadly. “It’s like those little models he used to make for us when we were kids.”</p>
<p>John nodded as Virgil voiced just what John had been thinking. Apparently, he hadn’t been the only one thinking about it.</p>
<p>“Like that car he made for Alan, and that boat for Gordon,” John mused, thinking back to what felt like forever ago.</p>
<p>“He made me a tractor,” Virgil laughed, and John couldn’t help but chuckle too.</p>
<p>“That’s because you were obsessed with the farm. We all thought you wanted to live there forever.”</p>
<p>“Hey, I still think I could have made an <em>excellent</em> agriculturist.”</p>
<p>They were both still laughing, but soon the mood sobered up as they remembered what had happened, what was still happening, and recent events only showed them that there was no escape from it all. There was still pain and memories that brought heartache, and it seemed that anything that slightly resembled memories that were still <em>too raw</em> had them unable to sleep for weeks as their minds were invaded with seemingly unimportant thoughts.</p>
<p>“I wish we knew that had happened to him,” John muttered after a long, silent moment. His voice was quiet enough that he wouldn’t have thought that Virgil had heard him.</p>
<p>However, he shouldn’t have been surprised when Virgil replied, as he was the brother who knew all that was said, even the words that hadn’t been spoken out loud.</p>
<p>“We will get to the bottom of all of this. If the Hood is involved, we’re not letting him get away with it this time.”</p>
<p>John had been looking down at his lap, so he hadn’t noticed Virgil’s hand leave the ship’s controls until it had filled his vision and came to rest on John’s. John hadn’t even realised his hands had been shaking until then.</p>
<p>He glanced up to find Virgil giving him a reassuring smile, and although John couldn’t find it in him to smile back, he did give him a shaky nod as he tried to set his mind back on the current situation at hand.</p>
<p>“Yeah. Though right now, we have a rescue to get to.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They reached the mines not long later. It took them only a couple of hours to move enough of the collapsed rock in the tunnels to uncover the miners and give them a safe way out.</p>
<p>The miners were sent away with the local emergency services, and John and Virgil were already set to head back home.</p>
<p>“Hold on, I’m picking up another life sign coming from the mines.” Virgil put his hand on John’s shoulder to stop him from where he had been heading back to Thunderbird 2.</p>
<p>John frowned as he turned to Virgil. His brother was concentrating on his watch that was displaying a map of the mines, and deep in one of the tunnels there was a blinking light that indicated to another person who was on their own.</p>
<p>“That can’t be right, I thought we got everybody. Our scans didn’t show anyone left, neither did any of the miners say we missed anyone.”</p>
<p>“There must have been an error, or maybe they were too deep in the mines for our scans to pick them up. Either way, we should go get them.” Virgil swiped away the map and was already heading back to the mines.</p>
<p>John followed him quickly, although he still couldn’t comprehend that such a thing would happen. Their equipment rarely ever made a mistake and these mines didn’t contain any metals or substances that would mess with their scans.</p>
<p>However, he knew that Virgil was right. If there was a chance that someone was still stuck down there, it was up to them to get them out.</p>
<p>John followed Virgil through the mines. Every now and then he would pull up the map and they would find that the person hadn’t moved yet, which made the two of them believe that they were injured.</p>
<p>However, once they reached the area where the person supposedly was, they could see no sign of them.</p>
<p>“Hello? Is anyone there? This is International Rescue!” They both tried calling out, but they got no response.</p>
<p>“We should survey the area, in case we’ve missed something, but otherwise-”</p>
<p>Virgil suddenly cut off and John turned to face his brother to see what had happened.</p>
<p>What he didn’t expect to find was his brother slumped over on the ground and a man he didn’t know standing over him.</p>
<p>John didn’t even have time to use his powers before he felt a sharp pain in his neck. The world started to tilt, but he was out before he hit the ground.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>:)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Virgil</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Jeff was younger, just married and barely thinking about the future, he had come up with an idea.</p>
<p>He wanted to use his powers to help those that needed rescuing. He would build a team of superheroes and together they would make the world a slightly better place.</p>
<p>However, soon fatherhood was his top priority. Before he knew it, he had a son, and then two, then three. By the time he had five, that idea was filed deep into the back of his mind.</p>
<p>He didn’t mind, because his focus was on raising five happy, healthy sons.</p>
<p>It wasn’t until said sons were gaining their own powers when this idea popped back into his head.</p>
<p>Jeff ended up sitting all of his sons down one day and explained his plan to them. He told them all about the rescue organisation he’d come up with, and about the island he’d bought where they’d live and be able to use their powers without the fear of someone finding out. He told them all about the vehicles they’d get to pilot, once they were old enough, which would let them reach every inch of the Earth and beyond.</p>
<p>All his sons were excited, most of all Gordon and John as they already had their powers and were eager for an excuse to use them all the time. However, it was going to take some time before the island was ready for them, and even longer before Jeff’s organisation would be up and running. Which gave the final three brothers time to get their powers.</p>
<p>But two years passed and they were finally ready to move at the end of the school year, and they were still waiting for their powers.</p>
<p>Virgil tried to not dwell on it too much, like both his oldest and youngest brothers were. He knew that they would come when it was time, and until then he would enjoy the last few weeks of school before they all moved and got home schooled at the island.</p>
<p>As it was nearing the end of the school year, field trips had been planned for all the grades at his school. Much to Virgil’s delight, his grade got to go to the Museum of Contemporary Art.</p>
<p>Not all of his classmates were as excited as he was, though. Most of them wanted to go to the zoo like the grade above them were. Virgil chose to ignore them and not let them ruin his day.</p>
<p>He got almost through the whole day.</p>
<p>It was a little after lunch. Their school had been given an area in the museum where they could eat their lunches and leave their bags to save them from carrying them around the museum.</p>
<p>The area looked much like the canteen at school, and was down a set of stairs and at the end of a short corridor. Virgil had just been leaving it, following the rest of his classmates back to the main part of the museum, when something caught his eye.</p>
<p>Across the corridor, there was a metal door that had a sign on it that read <em>‘no unauthorised access’</em>. The door was open a crack, and Virgil watched as three of his classmates went through the door.</p>
<p>Virgil frowned as he watched them go. He thought about getting a teacher, but he had been at the back of the group and everyone had already disappeared up the stairs by the time he turned back to them. So, Virgil went to go and see what the small group were up to.</p>
<p>He slowly opened the door as he peered inside the room. It wasn’t that large, and it was stuffy and warm. Metal machinery filled the room with pipes running along the walls and ceiling, and Virgil realised it was a plant room.</p>
<p>His classmates were at the back of the room, standing around what seemed to be a boiler.</p>
<p>“What are you guys doing?”</p>
<p>They all jumped in shock and quickly turned around, but relaxed once they saw it was just Virgil. Virgil recognised the three of them as Rajeev, Saif and Laura, and he shared multiple classes with all three of them.</p>
<p>“We were exploring,” Rajeev just shrugged.</p>
<p>“But you shouldn’t be in here. <em>How</em> did you even get in here?”</p>
<p>“The door was unlocked.” Laura left the other two to stand by Virgil. “C’mon, Virg, this trip is boring, right? I mean, who wants to look at some crummy art all day?”</p>
<p>Virgil went to open his mouth and say that <em>he</em> wanted to look at art, but before he could, there was a loud bang that came from the direction of the other two.</p>
<p>“Dude, what the hell?” Rajeev exclaimed as he turned to Saif.</p>
<p>“I didn’t do anything!” Saif yelled back, but the look on his face said otherwise.</p>
<p>“You kicked it!”</p>
<p>Virgil and Laura hurried over to the pair and found that one of the pipes that had been trailing along the wall was leaking gas.</p>
<p>“We should get out of here.” Virgil’s eyes were wide as he watched the gas.</p>
<p>“Relax, it’s nothing.” Saif shrugged him off as he made no move to leave.</p>
<p>“Uh, that doesn’t look like nothing.”</p>
<p>They all worriedly turned to what Rajeev was pointing at. The boiler that they were all standing next to was beginning to rumble and shake.</p>
<p>“Saif, <em>what did you do?</em>” Laura shouted over the loud rumbling.</p>
<p>“I don’t know!” Saif cried, panicked as he finally took a step back.</p>
<p>“We really should leave. Now!” Virgil grabbed Laura’s arm, as she was closest to him, and pulled her along with him as he ran out of the room. Thankfully, he heard Rajeev and Saif follow quickly behind them.</p>
<p>They turned down the corridor and headed for the stairs, but before they reached them, another loud bang, much louder than the one before, rang out behind them and a strong force sent them all to the ground.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Virgil coughed and blinked away the hazy blur that had become his vision, as he recalled what had just happened. When things came back into focus, which was difficult with all the dust in the air, he sat up and took in his surroundings.</p>
<p>The corridor he was still in was a destructive mess. Chunks of debris littered the floor, and although the ceiling was still intact, the subtle creaking Virgil heard did not make him think it was going to stay that way for long. There was also a hole in the wall that showed Virgil a clear view into the plant room, which looked even worse.</p>
<p>“Virgil…”</p>
<p>Virgil sat up straighter and looked around to find the source of the voice that called his name.</p>
<p>A little distance away was Laura. She was pushing herself up into a sitting position, but she was looking over at Virgil with tears in her eyes.</p>
<p>“Laura!”</p>
<p>Virgil quickly crawled over to where she was. Fortunately, he wasn’t injured from the blast, but the same couldn’t be said for Laura.</p>
<p>“I need help. My leg’s stuck,” Laura whimpered as she gestured down to her leg.</p>
<p>It was beneath a huge slab of concrete, which Virgil presumed was a part of the wall.</p>
<p>“Okay, don’t worry. I’ll get you out.” Virgil smiled at her, and then moved to the concrete. He crouched next to it and then tried to lift it, but it wouldn’t budge. It was too heavy.</p>
<p>“What’s going on?”</p>
<p>Virgil glanced over to see Saif and Rajeev sitting up. They were both clutching their heads, but otherwise appeared unharmed.</p>
<p>“That pipe you kicked exploded is what happened.” Rajeev shoved Saif as he moved to stand up.</p>
<p>“Hey, that wasn’t my fault! I didn’t know that this was gonna happen!” Saif stood up too and began to advance on Rajeev.</p>
<p>“It doesn’t matter.” Virgil broke them up before anything could happen. He knew from having four brothers, arguing would not get them anywhere. “I need you to come and help me out with this.” He gestured to the piece of debris he had been trying to lift before.</p>
<p>They sent each other a glare, but then they quickly came over to help Virgil without another remark.</p>
<p>However, even with the three of them, the concrete barely moved an inch.</p>
<p>“Ugh,” Rajeev exhaled heavily. “It’s not working. Maybe we should go and get help.”</p>
<p>Virgil hated to admit it, but he was right. There was no way just three of them was going to move this.</p>
<p>Although, another long, low creak of the ceiling above them that was accompanied by the cracking of fire in the plant room, had him thinking otherwise.</p>
<p>“I don’t think we have time.” Virgil moved to lift the concrete again, making sure that he was in a good position to lift it.</p>
<p>“Virgil, it’s impossible to move that! We need help!” Saif tried to reason with him, but Virgil did not listen. Instead, he was concentrating on freeing Laura.</p>
<p>“It’s-” Virgil steeled himself and then began to push at the concrete. “Not-” His muscles were straining painfully and he almost forgot to breathe with the tension his body was under. “Impossible!”</p>
<p>Finally, the concrete shifted, and like a floodgate opening, it was suddenly moving more and more with less and less resistance. Virgil was not thinking of anything except the concrete in his hands, and soon he managed to lift it above his head.</p>
<p>He tossed it to the side, towards where the wall once was. Then, without even thinking he bent down and scooped up Laura.</p>
<p>He could feel the eyes of Rajeev and Saif boring into the back of his head, but he ignored them.</p>
<p>“Come on!” He just yelled at them, and that managed to snap them out of their shocked state and they quickly followed him.</p>
<p>Virgil ran up the stairs two at a time. He didn’t know where his newfound energy had come from, but he wasn’t going to waste time thinking about it now.</p>
<p>When he reached the top of the stairs, he kicked the double doors open, barely slowing down to do so. Until then, he hadn’t realised that the fire alarm had been going, but he could now hear the shrill ringing and saw people hurrying to the nearest fire exit.</p>
<p>Virgil followed them out to the front entrance of the museum. As soon as he reached the bottom of the front steps outside, there was another bang like the one before. The building shook and Virgil clutched Laura tighter as he stumbled slightly.</p>
<p>It wasn’t until he had placed Laura down on the pavement a safe distance away from the building that he finally allowed himself to take a deep breath and process what had just happened.</p>
<p>Did he really just lift that all by himself?</p>
<p>“Virgil.”</p>
<p>Virgil’s attention was back on Laura. Her voice was quiet and she looked up at Virgil with wide eyes.</p>
<p>“That was…” She began, but trailed off as she searched for the right word.</p>
<p>“Impressive!” Rajeev filled in for her. Now that the initial shock had worn off, both he and Saif were watching Virgil in a mixture of excitement and bewilderment. “Dude, how did you do that?”</p>
<p>“Just adrenaline, I guess,” Virgil laughed nervously. Although, his gaze was on his shaky hands as he knew that was not true.</p>
<p>For he was instead sure that it was so much more.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>-Virgil always tries to be as gentle as possible with his family, as he is always worried that he could accidentally hurt one of them with his strength. (Which is hard, as he likes to hug others a lot XD)<br/>-His powers make him more resilient to pain, and he can take quite a few hits before getting hurt.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Missing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Is everything alright, Scott?”</p>
<p>Scott looked up from the desk to see Gordon walking into the room, followed closely by Kayo and Alan.</p>
<p>“I’m not sure, to be honest,” Scott replied.</p>
<p>The others frowned as they sat down on the sofas.</p>
<p>“What’s up?” Kayo’s brow was creased as she sent him the question, sounding concerned.</p>
<p>Scott leant forward in his seat so he could see them over their dad’s desk.</p>
<p>“I haven’t heard from John or Virgil yet. They should have checked in by now.”</p>
<p>“That’s odd. Have you tried calling them?” Kayo sat up straighter, and Scott could see the concern rising.</p>
<p>“I have, they didn’t answer.”</p>
<p>Scott pulled up the comms link and tried again just for good measure, and as he had been expecting, but not hoping, neither John nor Virgil answered.</p>
<p>“What do you think it could be?” The panic was clear in Alan’s voice, and Scott wished he could have quelled the worry right there and then, but he couldn’t.</p>
<p>“I’m not sure. Maybe they’re still busy with the rescue, but…”</p>
<p>“But it could be something else,” Kayo finished for him, knowing that Scott would always jump to the worst case scenario.</p>
<p>Scott nodded grimly. He knew he could very well be overreacting, but he didn’t want to take any chances.</p>
<p>“I’m going to go and check out the rescue site in Thunderbird 1.” He stood up from the desk, the chair rolling across the wooden floor as he pushed it back. “Alan, you can come with me. Kayo can follow us in Shadow.”</p>
<p>Scott moved over to his elevator that would take him down to his bird, but was intervened by Gordon.</p>
<p>“What about me?”</p>
<p>Scott sighed, knowing that he would get this response, but he understood why.</p>
<p>“Gordon, you know you can’t go. You haven’t even been cleared for duty yet.”</p>
<p>“But-”</p>
<p>“No, Gordon. I need you to stay here on comms, in case they call in.” Scott knew that it would be killing Gordon that he couldn’t come with them to find their wayward brothers. He hoped that by giving Gordon something to do would not make him feel so helpless, and would let them go soon with no more arguments. Scott was anxious to leave.</p>
<p>“Alright,” Gordon eventually relented and stepped aside, out of Scott’s way. Scott knew he was still not happy, so he put his hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze as he moved past.</p>
<p>He could hear Gordon move to sit where Scott just was at their dad’s desk with a sigh, but then the room and its sounds were gone as Scott stepped into the elevator and headed down to Thunderbird 1.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This was <em>really</em> not good.</p>
<p>They had reached the rescue sight quickly. They knew they were in the right place as they could see the big hunk of green that was Thunderbird 2 sitting next to the entrance into the mines.</p>
<p>Scott had landed Thunderbird 1 right next to her, and was out his bird and into the next one the second he could.</p>
<p>However, there was no sign of his two younger brothers in the ship or in the mines, which was where they checked next. There weren’t even any miners or local authorities left on the site. It was completely empty.</p>
<p>“What if the mine collapsed and they’re stuck?” Scott was pacing back and forth across the tunnel that the three of them had stopped in.</p>
<p>“There are no life signs in the whole area.”</p>
<p>Scott suddenly stopped in his pacing and whipped around to face Kayo so quickly he almost pulled a muscle in his neck. He knew what no life signs could mean, and he was panicked at the chance of that being true.</p>
<p>Kayo could see the worry churning and immediately stepped forward and raised her hands.</p>
<p>“But there’s also no signs that the mines collapsed further,” she said calmly. “If they were hurt, we would have found something.”</p>
<p>Scott let out a slow breath as he nodded. He couldn’t lose his head right now.</p>
<p>“What could have happened then?” Came Gordon’s voice from where his hologram was coming through Alan’s watch. He sounded just as worried as the rest of them.</p>
<p>“My uncle.”</p>
<p>There was no hesitation to Kayo’s statement. Her fists were clenched at her sides as she stared at Scott, her vision, like her voice, unwavering and filled with certainty.</p>
<p>“Are you sure?” Alan still asked, apparently still not convinced. Or maybe he was, but just didn’t want to believe it.</p>
<p>“It’s too much of a coincidence. With what happened just a few weeks ago, and now this, he has them. He’s planning something.”</p>
<p>Scott’s panic had quickly turned into anger. For not the first time, the Hood had taken someone from his family from him.</p>
<p>Scott quickly turned to the closest wall and sent a fist of electricity towards it with a cry of frustration. It wasn’t enough to bring the whole wall down, but it was enough to create a small dent and for some dust to flitter about.</p>
<p>This time, Scott was getting his brothers back. This time, the Hood was not getting away with it.</p>
<p>This time would be the last time he messed with their family.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Virgil was sure he had never woken up with his head throbbing so much and his mouth so dry before.</p>
<p>He slowly peeled his eyes open and pushed himself up. His limbs felt lethargic and heavy, and although in his life he had only been hungover a handful of times, this right here felt way worse.</p>
<p>When he’d opened his eyes, he realised he was in a room that was completely made of metal. Metal walls, floor and ceiling. Even the sad excuse of a bed he was on was just a metal slab.</p>
<p>Now he was sitting, Virgil cast a gaze around the room.</p>
<p>There wasn’t much in there, just a door sealed shut and another bed across the room. There was someone on the bed, and even though they were wearing clothes Virgil didn’t recognise and they had their back to him, Virgil would recognise that bright mop of hair anywhere.</p>
<p>“-ohn?” Virgil’s voice croaked as he called for his brother, his mouth still feeling like it was full of cotton. He swallowed several times to bring some moisture back into his mouth before he tried again. “John?”</p>
<p>His brother seemed to have heard him this time, as he groaned a moment later and slowly sat up. He appeared just as tired as Virgil felt, and he blinked several times at Virgil before recognition seemed to hit.</p>
<p>“Virgil?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, it’s me. What happened?” The last thing Virgil remembered was being in that mine and then suddenly he was waking up here.</p>
<p>John seemed thoughtful for a moment, but then his eyes widened with the memory.</p>
<p>“There was someone in the mines with us. They knocked you out first and then me. I think they drugged us and then must have brought up here, wherever <em>here</em> is.”</p>
<p>They both looked around the room again, before their gazes settled on the door and Virgil got an idea.</p>
<p>“Well, whatever this place is, I’m going to get us out.”</p>
<p>Virgil pushed himself off the bed and almost fell flat on his face. His legs felt like noodles beneath him and he had to clutch onto the bed to keep himself upright.</p>
<p>He stood there for a moment and then shook his legs awake. When he was sure he wouldn’t collapse on them, he slowly stumbled his way to the door.</p>
<p>There was no door handle on this side, and a shove against the door confirmed that, just as Virgil had suspected, it was locked.</p>
<p>Virgil took a step back and bent his knees slightly, getting into a stance ready to throw himself against the door.</p>
<p>However, as he ran into the door, it was like all his strength had been sapped out of him. The door didn’t move and he hadn’t even made a dent in it.</p>
<p>He hadn’t felt like this since his early teens. Whatever drug had been given to him must have been some sort of heavy sedative and it was taking too long to wear off.</p>
<p>“I’m not strong enough,” Virgil huffed as he slumped against the closest wall, already feeling tired from his exertion. “Can you see if you can do anything?”</p>
<p>John hopped off the bed, seeming slightly more awake than Virgil already. They must have given him a slightly milder sedative, which was worrying, because it meant these people knew too much about them.</p>
<p>John held his hand out towards the door. He was quiet as he concentrated, but barely a second passed before he abruptly hunched over. He yelled in pain as his hand clutched the side of his neck.</p>
<p>“What is it?” Virgil quickly pushed himself off the wall and hurried to John’s side. His hands hovered over him worriedly, but not touching.</p>
<p>John let out a long breath and straightened slowly, his hand not leaving his neck.</p>
<p>He frowned as he felt around on his neck, and Virgil, curious, stepped around his brother to see what he was doing. Virgil gently lifted his brother’s hand out of the way and instantly saw what was wrong.</p>
<p>On the right side of John’s neck, there was a small metal disk. It had what looked like tiny little claws digging into his skin, keeping it locked in place.</p>
<p>“What is that?” Virgil stepped closer to get a better look.</p>
<p>“You have one too.”</p>
<p>“What?” Virgil looked at John, but his hands left his neck and went to his own. There, he could feel the same metal disk clinging to his own neck.</p>
<p>“Maybe I can get it off?”</p>
<p>John lifted his hands to Virgil’s neck. Virgil was waiting for the feeling of it being released, but instead all he got was an electric shock being sent throughout his body.</p>
<p>Virgil yelled and staggered back, his hand reaching for his neck, just like John had done.</p>
<p>“Sorry!” John was quick to apologise. “I guess that doesn’t work.”</p>
<p>“No, I guess not.” Virgil rubbed his neck as the pain already started to subside.</p>
<p>He began to really wonder who these people were. They clearly knew who Virgil and John were and what they could do. Now the question was, what did they want with them?</p>
<p>Fortunately, or not, they didn’t have to wait long to find out. Just a couple of minutes later, there was the sound of rattling keys on the other side of the door.</p>
<p>The door opened a second later and two men wearing masks that covered their whole head stepped into the room.</p>
<p>“You two. Come with us.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Virgil and John trudged through the halls of whatever building they were in. All the walls were made of metal out here too, and there were no windows, which made the two of them believe they were underground.</p>
<p>The hallways were empty and long, and doors lined the walls on each side. Virgil was starting to feel a bit more awake as they were ushered through the building, but he still didn’t feel strong enough to take either of the two guards down.</p>
<p>At the end of one hallway, there was a set of double doors. Two more guards with masks on were outside the door. Once they saw them approaching, the two of them pushed the doors open and then John and Virgil were lead into the room beyond.</p>
<p>The room was gigantic. The ceiling stretched high above them and the back of the room was set far back.</p>
<p>The lighting was dim, but they could see that workbenches filled the room, all covered with tools and half-built contraptions. There were also people in the room, some with those masks on and some without, and they were working at the benches.</p>
<p>Virgil and John couldn’t take in the room any longer because they were then shoved forward to keep moving.</p>
<p>They were led to the side of the room, where there was a small set of stairs. At the top of the stairs, there was a door. There were long windows on each side of the door, so that whoever was in the room would be able to observe the workshop below.</p>
<p>One of the masked men knocked on the door and then opened it after a moment, pushing Virgil and John into the room before closing it behind them.</p>
<p>This room looked like an office, although it was fairly bland. The most there was in the room was a desk and the chair that sat behind it.</p>
<p>And sitting on the chair was the one man who seemed to be hell-bent on ruining their lives.</p>
<p>“So glad you could finally make it.” The Hood grinned as he leant forward and rested his elbows on the desk.</p>
<p>Virgil felt the growl in the back of his throat and took a step forward.</p>
<p>“What do you want with us?”</p>
<p>“Skipping the pleasantries, I see. Very well, I’ll get to it. You two are going to work for me, simple as.” He leant back in his chair, still smiling.</p>
<p>“We will never work for you,” Virgil sent a glare at the Hood, holding back the desire to punch the man in the face, as there was a voice in the back of his head that hold him that would not be as good of an idea as he thought it’d be right now.</p>
<p>“I don’t think you fully understand the situation you’re in, <em>Tracy</em>.” He pushed himself up from the desk, but stayed behind it, like having it between them gave him further authority. His grin was gone. “This isn’t an option- you <em>will</em> work for me. Unless you would like me to remind you who is in charge here.”</p>
<p>There was a cry of pain from behind Virgil and he spun around quickly. John was bent over with his hand on his neck where the metal disk sat.</p>
<p>Virgil hurried back over to John’s side. Thankfully, John was already straightening up as the pain subsided. It was only a short burst of electricity, but the two of them got the message.</p>
<p>“Like I said, you will work for me, or the consequences will be much worse. I suggest you get to work.”</p>
<p>A hand roughly grabbed Virgil’s shoulder and pulled him back. He stumbled at the manhandling, but managed to gain his footing before he fell. He and John were then shoved out of the room by the masked men, but Virgil didn’t miss the smirk the Hood sent them before the door closed behind them.</p>
<p>The two of them were lead across the large room and over to an empty workbench. A pile of tools and materials were dumped onto the bench a moment later, along with a small device.</p>
<p>“Build this,” one of the men said gruffly as he pointed to the device. “Here are some instructions. Once you’re done, place the finished item over there and made another.” He tossed down a small, laminated piece of paper and then jerked his thumb over to the side of the room, where several boxes sat. “Don’t step out of line, or you will meet the consequences.”</p>
<p>They both left after that and went to start patrolling around the room like the rest of the guards.</p>
<p>The two of them watched them go, and then John turned to Virgil.</p>
<p>“What do we do?” He looked worried, and it took John a lot to get worried.</p>
<p>Virgil picked up the instructions and began to read them. They seemed simple enough, although he couldn’t understand what exactly they were meant to be making.</p>
<p>“We make these,” Virgil picked up the tools he needed to start. “And we work out how to escape.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Virgil had been hoping to find a way to escape as soon as they got there, but a while had passed and they were still there.</p>
<p>Virgil reckoned they had been there for a week, though the days had started to get difficult to keep track of after the first few had passed. There were no windows about and Virgil couldn’t be sure what the time was when they went to sleep after a long day or when they woke up just a few hours later.</p>
<p>He had tried to find out anything he could about where they were, but it was hard to do anything other than build when they couldn’t use their powers and there was constantly the threat of getting electrocuted.</p>
<p>He didn’t know who the other people in the workshop were or why they were there; whether they were prisoners like he and John or were there voluntarily working for the Hood. He also had no idea what they were making. Some days they were told to make something different, but it was always something small that was clearly a part of something bigger. They just didn’t know what.</p>
<p>“We really need to find a way out of here. We need to put a stop to whatever it is the Hood’s planning,” John voiced from next to him. He was fiddling with the tools, pretending to be building when he was really looking around the room.</p>
<p>“We do,” Virgil agreed, but he couldn’t help but feel a little doubtful. It had been a week and nothing had changed; they were no closer to getting out than the day they arrived.</p>
<p>“Just keep pretending to work and keep an eye out. Maybe today something will change.”</p>
<p>They settled into a silence as they worked, or at least pretended to. Virgil had been looking around the room, trying to find <em>something</em>, but the guards were constantly about and got rid of any hope of trying to sneak past them.</p>
<p>However, at some point during the day when Virgil was bent over the bench and tinkering with something, he heard a sharp intake of breath come from John.</p>
<p>“Is that…”</p>
<p>Virgil straightened up and looked at John, but his brother’s eyes were locked on something across the room. Virgil’s brow creased as he followed his brother’s gaze, but once he saw what he was looking at, the air escaped him as well.</p>
<p>He was watching an all-too-familiar man. A man who they had not seen for two years.</p>
<p>“It’s dad.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Apparently I am unable to not end on a cliffhanger</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Scott</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Scott trudged through the trees, heading to the beach. Even under the protection of the trees, he could already feel the drops of rain smack against his forehead as the storm began.</p>
<p>They’d only been at the island for a couple of months now and this was the first tropical storm they’d had. It was giving them a proper welcome, though, as it was coming in full force.</p>
<p>The rest of his brothers had been down at the beach, enjoying the sunshine as there had been no forecast of rain. But the sky had quickly clouded over and Scott had been sent to collect them before they got drenched.</p>
<p>It wasn’t a long walk to the beach that he and his brothers had spent a lot of their days at, and before Scott realised, he had reached it.</p>
<p>The wind picked up as soon as he stepped out onto the beach, and Scott hadn’t realised how much the trees had been protecting him from the worst of it.</p>
<p>“Guys! You gotta come in now!” Scott yelled over the wind as he approached his brothers. He wasn’t too sure if they had heard him, but as he got closer he could see that they were already packing up.</p>
<p>“Hey, Scott!” Virgil called once he saw Scott approaching. “Did dad send you?”</p>
<p>“Yeah. Wanted to make sure you all got back before the storm got worse,” Scott confirmed, chuckling slightly at Virgil’s prediction. They all knew how protective their dad could get over them.</p>
<p>“We started packing as soon as the clouds rolled over. Should be ready to head back any minute now.”</p>
<p>As if on cue, their three younger brothers appeared at their sides, stuff all packed and waiting on the two of them to lead them back.</p>
<p>“You got everything?” Scott asked, and they all nodded up at him. They all looked a bit sad that their fun got cut short, but also glad to be heading back because they were already getting soaked through. “Alright, then. Let’s head back.”</p>
<p>Scott led them back through the trees that separated the beach from the house. In the short time he’d been outside, the storm had really begun to pick up. The rain and wind were harsh and thunder had started to crackle in the distance.</p>
<p>One particular loud crack of thunder that was followed quickly by lightning had Alan jumping from behind Scott and wrapping his arms around his waist.</p>
<p>Scott staggered at the unexpected weight of his little brother. Alan’s face was pressed into Scott’s back and Scott was forced to stop.</p>
<p>“Hey, Allie?” Scott gently pried Alan’s hands of his waist so he could spin around and face his brother. He crouched down and looked into Alan’s scared eyes. “There’s nothing to worry about, okay? It’s just a bit of thunder, it can’t hurt you. We’re almost back at the house, where we’ll be safe from the storm. Think you can be brave for me?”</p>
<p>He smiled reassuringly at his littlest brother, who watched Scott sceptically before he gave him the bravest face he could muster.</p>
<p>“Yes, Scotty,” he nodded firmly.</p>
<p>Scott ruffled his brother’s wet hair as he stood up. He reached his hand out and Alan took it, and then they joined their brothers on their journey back to the house.</p>
<p>It only took them a few more minutes to get back inside, but despite Scott’s efforts to get his brothers back before the storm got bad, they still all ended up soaked from head to toe.</p>
<p>Their Grandma was waiting for them with warm towels and fresh hot chocolate the second they stepped through the door. They kicked off their muddy shoes and then settled around the table in the kitchen to warm up and dry off.</p>
<p>They were like that for several minutes, but then Alan pulled his backpack onto his lap and started to rummage around in it.</p>
<p>“What you looking for, Al?” Virgil asked from around his mug that was held close to his face.</p>
<p>“My drone.” He pulled out the controller for it and laid it on the table, but went back to looking in the bag.</p>
<p>“Let me have a look,” Virgil offered after Alan’s distressed face looked up at them, unsuccessful at looking for his lost toy. Virgil, like Scott, had experienced many a reaction after one of their brothers thought they’d lost something, only for one of the older brothers to have found it for them a minute later.</p>
<p>However, after Virgil had also searched through Alan’s backpack, he too came to the same conclusion.</p>
<p>“It’s not in here,” he frowned. “You sure you put it in here when we left the beach?”</p>
<p>“Yeah!” Alan snatched the bag back and then proceeded to tip its contents onto the table, narrowly missing spilling everyone’s hot chocolates in the process.</p>
<p>A bunch of little knickknacks and toys that a kid would take to the beach fell across the table between them, accompanied by little grains of sand that Scott already knew they’d be finding in the kitchen for weeks to come, but there was no drone.</p>
<p>“Maybe it fell out on the way back. We can go and look for it after the storm.” Grandma smiled as she stood behind Alan, her hands rubbing his towel through his hair soothingly.</p>
<p>“No!” Alan stood up quickly, the towel falling from his shoulders. “What if it gets broken?”</p>
<p>“But Alan, the weather’s still bad out there.”</p>
<p>“I’ll go get it,” Scott announced as he finished the rest of his drink and stood up.</p>
<p>“You sure, Scott?” Grandma looked between him and the storm past the window worriedly, but Scott was looking at Alan.</p>
<p>Alan was watching him with such hope and happiness, Scott had no choice but to say yes. He wouldn’t have said anything different regardless.</p>
<p>“Yeah, it’s not far. It’s probably just on the trail somewhere.”</p>
<p>Scott made his way back to the door to slip his shoes back on, but before he could get there he was intercepted by Alan.</p>
<p>“Thanks, Scotty!” Alan wrapped his arms around Scott to hug him, and Scott hugged him back.</p>
<p>“It’s no problem, Allie. You know I’ll do anything for you.” Even if that meant going out into the middle of a storm to get one of his favourite toys back.</p>
<p>Once Scott was ready to step outside again, he pulled the patio door open. The wind that hit him almost knocked him off his feet, and he was quick to shut the door behind him before the rest of his family could get cold.</p>
<p>Outside, it felt extra cold now that he was already in wet clothes. He wrapped his arms around his chest and hurried over to the same path in the trees he’d just come from. The quicker he could find what he was looking for, the quicker he could get back to the warmth.</p>
<p>It took Scott longer than he would have like to find Alan’s drone. By the time he stumbled across the little toy stuck in the mud, the storm sounded as if it was directly above Scott’s head. It was deafening, and although the clouds had darkened the sky, lightning lit up the whole area around Scott.</p>
<p>Scott picked up the drone and brushed off the dirt and thick droplets of water that had collected on the top of it. He was glad that it was waterproof; otherwise Alan would not be happy if he brought it back to him broken.</p>
<p>Another crack of thunder from above had Scott stumbling in shock, almost dropping the drone in the process. He could understand how Alan got scared of it before, because this storm was <em>loud</em>.</p>
<p>There was another loud noise that came quickly after, but it was different this time and sounded much closer.</p>
<p>However, he didn’t even have a second to process what it was because he was then hit by a heavy force that sent him to the floor.</p>
<p>On his way down, he felt a buzzing all over his body. It travelled from his fingers to his toes, until it collected in his head and sent a ringing through his ears, and then there was nothing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There were voices and a warm feeling on his face. His head was throbbing, but not in a bad way. It was like it was filled with a million thoughts and he couldn’t focus on just one. His body ached like when he had spent the whole day working on the farm, but also like he was pumped full of adrenaline and he could go and run a hundred laps around the island.</p>
<p>“I think he’s waking up.”</p>
<p>Scott recognised that voice, and it had him opening his eyes with a groan.</p>
<p>“Dad?”</p>
<p>He was sure it was his dad’s face above his, though he couldn’t be sure as his vision was blurred and the sun was shining bright on his face.</p>
<p>Wait, <em>the sun?</em></p>
<p>Scott blinked some more and then things came into focus. It was his dad’s face hovering worriedly above his own, but past that Scott could see his brothers’ faces looking down at him too.</p>
<p>“Yeah, son, it’s me,” his dad said, bringing Scott’s focus back to him. “Do you remember what happened?”</p>
<p>Scott shook his head. All he remembered was searching for Alan’s drone and then getting knocked to the ground.</p>
<p>“Well, I think you got struck by lightning.”</p>
<p>“What!”</p>
<p>Scott sat up so quickly, he almost knocked heads with his dad, but he managed to move out of the way quickly and so did his brothers.</p>
<p>Scott looked around the area that he was lying in. The ground was charred and the trees looked split and burnt. It looked like there should have been a fire around him, but when Scott looked down at himself, he looked fine, albeit there were a couple more holes in his clothes than there were before.</p>
<p>“But I’m fine.” The initial buzzing in his head had begun to fade now and all he was feeling was slightly tired. “I feel fi-”</p>
<p>Scott had lifted his hands to examine himself further and show his dad that he really was alright, but when he brought his hands to his face, all he could see were the bolts of electricity that coursed through his hands.</p>
<p>It looked like webbing between his fingers that would move and snake around his hands and wrists. His fingertips felt like they were getting pricked by little needles, but in the best way.</p>
<p>“That’s the thing; we think you got your powers.”</p>
<p>“Woah…” Scott’s attention was solely on the energy in front of him. He clenched his fists and the electricity shot off into the trees. He watched as the bright bolts dissolved and then turned back to his dad. “How long was I out?”</p>
<p>“A few minutes, maybe a bit longer. You were gone for about ten minutes before the storm basically vanished, gone as quickly as it had arrived. When you hadn’t come back by then, your Grandma came and got me and I went looking for you. Your brothers insisted on coming.” He pointed at his four younger brothers who were still huddled close by, watching eagerly. “It was only a couple of minutes after we found you that you woke up.”</p>
<p>That would explain why Scott was still outside and why the sun was now shining brightly down at him.</p>
<p>He put his hands back on the ground to lean back, but then he brushed against something in the dirt.</p>
<p>When he picked it up, he realised that it was the charred remains of Alan’s drone.</p>
<p>“Aah, Alan, I’m sorry.”</p>
<p>“It don’t matter.” Alan shrugged with a smile, which was a stark change from before when he was upset at the possibility of having a broken toy. “It gave you your powers!”</p>
<p>“Your drone did not give him powers,” Gordon remarked.</p>
<p>“Yes it did!”</p>
<p>“No, that was the lightning.”</p>
<p>“Alright, boys,” Jeff broke them up with a laugh. “Let’s just say it was both.”</p>
<p>He then turned to Scott and moved to help him up. “You feeling alright?”</p>
<p>“Yeah.” Scott did feel a little lightheaded when he stood up, but that passed quickly.</p>
<p>“I’ll get your Grandma to check you out just in case.” He rubbed Scott’s back and then guided him back to the house, with his brothers following closely behind.</p>
<p>“Now you’re in the club, Scotty!” Gordon happily skipped next to him. “The superhero club! Where we fight crime and bad guys! Pew, pew!” He shot two bursts of ice at the closest tree.</p>
<p>“There’s not going to be any fighting crime. We’re just going to be helping people in need,” Jeff reminded him.</p>
<p>“Yeah, helping them from evil villains!” Gordon contorted his hands like claws and hunched over, which brought out a chuckle from Scott.</p>
<p>“There are no evil villains, Gordon.” Jeff shook his head as he laughed too.</p>
<p>“Are you actually sure about that, dad?” Virgil piped up. “I mean, we’re not the only ones with powers, right? How do you know that no one out there will use theirs for something bad?”</p>
<p>That was something that Scott had never considered before, and with the frown that their dad had on his face, it was something he hadn’t thought of either.</p>
<p>He was quiet for a long moment before he finally spoke up, quietly. “Well, then we will need to stop them before they have the chance.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>-Scott is immune from getting hurt by lightning and electricity. If anything, getting struck by lightning and electrical shocks just make him more powerful.<br/>-As his powers are electricity based, he can easily start up or destroy electrical devices.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Lost and Found</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Scott yawned as he made his way out of the kitchen, coffee in hand. He took a sip of the strong, still steaming liquid and headed to the living room.</p>
<p>Two of his brothers had been missing for over one week. His mind had been plagued by what could have happened to them, or what was currently happening to them. If the Hood really did have them, then Scott couldn’t imagine it would be anything good.</p>
<p>He had been spending as much of his time as he could trying to find them, but it was still to no avail. Nonetheless, he wouldn’t stop. He had already lost his dad to the Hood, he wouldn’t lose his brothers as well.</p>
<p>Scott reached the top of the stairs and stepped into the living room, intending to go and sit at his dad’s desk and continue looking for <em>something,</em> but he was stopped short when he found it already occupied.</p>
<p>“Grandma?” Scott wasn’t expecting anyone else to be up this early in the morning.</p>
<p>His Grandma looked up from the hologram in front of her, and once seeing that it was Scott she closed it down and stood up from the chair.</p>
<p>“Scott, we’ve got another rescue.”</p>
<p>“Is it not something that the GDF or local rescue services can take care of?” Scott would much rather spend his time looking for his lost brothers, but his Grandma shook her head and then pulled up the hologram that she had just been looking at.</p>
<p>“No, this is too big. You boys are the only ones who can stop it.”</p>
<p>Scott frowned at those words and stepped over to see what his Grandma was pointing at, but once he saw it, he knew exactly what she meant.</p>
<hr/>
<p>“We need to get over to him!” John moved to step around the workbench and towards the man who he had doubted he would ever see again, but was stopped by a hand on his arm.</p>
<p>“We can’t just go over there.” Virgil looked pained to say that, as he too probably wanted to just run over to their dad. “They’ll see us. We need to find a way.”</p>
<p>As much as John hated to admit it, he knew Virgil was right. John sent a look towards the masked guards who were pacing around the room. There was no way they’d just let the two of them walk over there. John looked around the room, but he couldn’t find any other way.</p>
<p>“What do you think we should do?” John turned back to Virgil, hoping desperately that he would have an answer.</p>
<p>Virgil cast his gaze around the room, before he seemed to settle on something.</p>
<p>“I have an idea.” Virgil didn’t explain any further. Instead, he picked up one of the devices they had already made and went over towards the boxes that they were instructed to leave them in.</p>
<p>John was confused as to what his brother was doing, as he was heading in the opposite direction to where their dad was.</p>
<p>However, he didn’t question it and just watched Virgil, trusting that he did have an idea.</p>
<p>Virgil made his way to the side of the room and dropped the device into the box. When he turned to head back, John noticed someone else heading towards him, carrying their own built machine to drop off.</p>
<p>Virgil moved past the person, and John barely noticed the foot he stuck out before the other person tripped and went tumbling into the boxes.</p>
<p>The boxes crashed onto the ground and their contents spilled across the floor, with the person falling on top of them.</p>
<p>“Hey!” A guard yelled from across the room, and John was worried that it was directed at Virgil, until he saw the guard move towards the person still picking themselves off the ground.</p>
<p>By the time Virgil made it back to John, the rest of the guards in the room had gathered around, after having been drawn to the commotion.</p>
<p>“Clean that up!” The same guard from before commanded as they loomed over the person, who appeared to be just as much as a prisoner here as the two of them.</p>
<p>“But-” The person sat up, but doubled over again with a cry as they were hit with the electrical shocks that John knew all too well.</p>
<p>John missed whatever happened next as Virgil grasped his arm and started to pull him away. When John turned towards his brother, Virgil had a guilty, yet determined, look on his face as he guided John towards where he most wanted to be. They were not stopped by any guards; they were too busy being distracted by Virgil’s diversion.</p>
<p>As they got closer to their dad, it really began to hit John of what they were doing. This man, just a few metres away now, who they had not seen for two years, who John did not think they would see again, was actually here. He was real, was getting more real every step they took closer, and if it wasn’t for Virgil’s hand on his arm, John wasn’t sure he would still be walking forward.</p>
<p>When they reached the workbench that their dad was at, their dad didn’t appear to have noticed them yet, as he continued to work on whatever he had been instructed to make.</p>
<p>It wasn’t until the two of them were standing on the opposite side of the bench to him that Jeff finally looked up.</p>
<p>Nothing was said for several long seconds, and John wasn’t sure who was going to break the silence first.</p>
<p>It ended up being their dad. After the initial disbelief that washed over his face started to fade, a smile stretched across it.</p>
<p>“Virgil? John? Is that really you?” His voice was quiet and he still sounded shocked, which was understandable. Virgil and John felt the same way, and they had already had a few minutes to take it in.</p>
<p>“Yeah, dad. It’s really us.” Virgil stepped around the bench and gave their dad a tight hug, which he gladly returned. John quickly stepped in to join.</p>
<p>It was a moment that John never wanted to end, being reunited with his dad who he hadn’t seen in years, but he knew it had to end eventually. Things never went how they wanted.</p>
<p>Their dad stepped back, seeming also reluctant to let them go, but also aware that it couldn’t last, not here.</p>
<p>“What are you doing here?” He held them at arm’s length and his eyes started to scan them, making sure they were alright, but Virgil and John were doing the same to him.</p>
<p>Jeff looked thinner, less muscular than John remembered him being, He wore the same dull clothes that the rest of them had been issued, but his hung loosing on his shoulders. His face looked tired and he definitely looked older than he should after just two years, like the result of too much stress.</p>
<p>Virgil cast John a glance, probably having noticed the same as him, before he turned back to their dad to answer his question.</p>
<p>“The Hood took us.”</p>
<p>Jeff’s reaction was immediate. His face hardened and his fists clenched, and John knew he was fighting the desire to go after the man who brought them all here. Instead, he shook himself and turned back to what he had been making at his bench to get his frustrations out that way.</p>
<p>“How long have you been here?” He asked them after a moment of trying to calm down.</p>
<p>“About a week?” Virgil sounded slightly unsure, but so was John. It was hard to keep track of how many days had passed.</p>
<p>“That long and I never knew you were here,” their dad muttered, and the guilt was clear in his voice.</p>
<p>“Dad, this isn’t your fault.” John was quick to quell his guilt, though he knew it wouldn’t work. His dad would still feel guilty about them being here, just like they would feel guilty about not finding their dad sooner and instead left him here for the past two years. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t anything that any of them could’ve prevented.</p>
<p>John had put his hand on his dad’s shoulder to comfort him, but that was when he really saw what he was making. Or rather <em>how</em> he was making it.</p>
<p>Jeff wasn’t touching the metal. His hands were hovering about it and without any tools it was still bending under his will.</p>
<p>It wasn’t anything that John hadn’t seen before, but it was still startling for him to see it here.</p>
<p>“You’re using your powers? How-”</p>
<p>John never got to finish his question or hear the answer as their time together inevitably got cut short.</p>
<p>“What are you three doing over there?” A guard yelled at them, the distraction having worn off now as everyone moved back to their stations.</p>
<p>The next thing John knew was the sharp stab of pain in his neck as electricity assaulted his body. He heard a couple of grunts next to him as his dad and Virgil got the same treatment.</p>
<p>“Get back to work!”</p>
<p>The pain ended and before John could protest, his dad was pushing him away.</p>
<p>“Go. We can talk later,” was whispered in his ear. Back under the watchful eyes of the guards, he couldn’t ask when or how, and was instead left to wonder as he and Virgil reluctantly went back to work.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>John and Virgil were back in their room. They had been there for a while, several hours at least. Usually, by this point they’d both be asleep. However, neither of them could.</p>
<p>They both laid on their beds, but their minds were filled with thoughts of that day.</p>
<p>They had actually found their dad. John wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen and touched him himself. Even after he had found out it was the Hood who brought the two of them here, it hadn’t even occurred to him that this was the place their dad was taken to after he’d disappeared as well.</p>
<p>The problem now was how they could escape. Not that Virgil and John hadn’t been looking for a way out before, but now John felt the strong desire to get their dad out of here. It was what he deserved after working for the Hood for two years.</p>
<p>He was sure Virgil felt the same way.</p>
<p>John glanced across the room to watch said brother. It was like Virgil knew he was being watched, because as soon as John set his eyes on his brother, Virgil was turning to face him too.</p>
<p>“Can’t sleep either?” Virgil asked, like that wasn’t obvious.</p>
<p>John nodded as he sat up. He knew he wasn’t going to get to sleep anytime soon, so there was no point in lying on the uncomfortable bed.</p>
<p>Virgil followed suit and he stood up from his bed to stretch his legs.</p>
<p>“I still can’t believe it.” Virgil’s voice was quiet, muffled by the hands on his face, but when he dropped them, he was smiling. John couldn’t help but match his brother’s grin.</p>
<p>“Neither can I. To think he’s been here all this time…” John trailed off as he started to really realise that their dad had spent all his time <em>here</em> when he’d been missing. Just a week here felt like too much for John, he couldn’t imagine two years.</p>
<p>John’s gaze had drifted to the floor, but then two feet stepped into his vision. John looked up to find that Virgil had moved to stand in front of John.</p>
<p>“We will get him out of here. We’ll <em>all</em> get out of here.”</p>
<p>Virgil’s hand was on John’s shoulder, which reassured him that he wasn’t in this alone. They’d work together to get out.</p>
<p>Suddenly, there was a loud commotion that came from out in the hallway and had John jumping off the bed to stand next to his brother.</p>
<p>Virgil sent him a confused look and John sent him one back, before they both turned towards the door.</p>
<p>There was no window that showed them what was happening outside their room, but from what they could hear, whatever was happening was getting closer to them.</p>
<p>Soon, the loud noises, which sounded like crashing and screeching metal, were accompanied by yelling. It was coming from right outside their door, but John couldn’t make out the words.</p>
<p>He half expected for whatever was happening out there to pass by their room and head further up the hallway, as it didn’t involve them,</p>
<p>However, after several moments of loud crashes, it suddenly got eerily quiet. The noise was gone just as abruptly as it had arrived, and John thought it was all over until the door to their room swung open so quickly it almost flew off its hinges.</p>
<p>And standing there in the doorway was their dad.</p>
<p>“Dad, what-” John began, but was cut off by their dad as he stepped into the room.</p>
<p>“No time to explain, son. We need to go now, before it’s too late.”</p>
<p>Jeff walked over to the two of them and raised his right hand at John. John didn’t have time to ask what he was doing before he felt a slight twinge in the side of his neck.</p>
<p>He knew it was where the metal disc that disabled their powers laid, but he didn’t feel the electric shock he was used to experiencing. Instead, it was like a rush of energy that he hadn’t realised was missing started to flood back into him.</p>
<p>It took him only a second to realise that it was his powers coming back.</p>
<p>There was another slight prick of pain, and then a quiet clatter of metal as the disc was dislodged from his neck and fell to the floor.</p>
<p>The whole ordeal only took a few moments, and once their dad was done with John, he quickly moved onto Virgil.</p>
<p>John barely had time to process what was happening. His dad had just barged into their room, using his powers, and disabled their power inhibitors, <em>using his powers</em>.</p>
<p>He had a million questions racing around his head, but no time to ask them. Their dad quickly turned back to the door once he was done with Virgil.</p>
<p>John turned to his brother and he found Virgil lightly touching where the disc once was on his neck- John now spotted it on the floor, just a step away from his. Virgil looked the most awake he had since they’d been there. John hadn’t realised how tired his brother seemed, Virgil probably hadn’t noticed it either, but now it was obvious with the way that Virgil was standing straight, that his strength was back.</p>
<p>“Come with me.”</p>
<p>John’s attention was drawn back to their dad, who was standing back in the doorway, one hand on the frame.</p>
<p>“I’ll explain what’s happening on the way. But we need to go.” He cast a look down the hallway before he quickly turned back to them.</p>
<p>Seeing him standing there reminded John of just a few years ago, when their dad sat at the head of International Rescue, commanding them on what to do and sending them on rescues and missions. They followed him without question.</p>
<p>It was like they were back there on the island, where their dad hadn’t been missing for two years. John hadn’t hesitated back then, and he wouldn’t hesitate now.</p>
<p>If their dad said it was time to go, it was time to go. Even if John had questions, he did not question that.</p>
<p>So, with a glance towards Virgil that Virgil returned, they nodded in agreement, and then followed their dad out the door.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Once John stepped out into the hall, he immediately saw what the cause of all the noise had been.</p>
<p>Where the hallway had once been made of a smooth metal across the floor, ceiling and walls, now the metal was crushed and crumbled; like how John expected the inside of an empty soda can to look like.</p>
<p>There were a handful of masked guards slumped against the bent walls. They weren’t moving, but John was sure they were just unconscious. It wasn’t hard to guess who the cause of it was.</p>
<p>“What…” Virgil’s quiet voice came from next to John as he too took in the surroundings. His shock and confusion were clear on his face, but he couldn’t finish his question before their dad was pulling them along again.</p>
<p>“We need to get there now, before it’s too late,” their dad repeated. It was all he had said so far. He turned a corner and they followed.</p>
<p>“Dad, slow down.” Virgil was not talking about the speed of their dad’s steps, as the two of them were keeping up as he hurried down the hallway. What they weren’t keeping up with were his words. “You’re not making sense.”</p>
<p>“Right, I’m sorry. I should explain.” Their dad didn’t slow down in his steps as he began his explanation. “The Hood is planning something- something big. He has had everyone here involved, including you two and me. Especially me.”</p>
<p>Jeff went quiet for a second, but then he shook himself and continued. “I don’t know when he plans to act, but we need to put a stop to it before he gets the chance.”</p>
<p>The biggest question on John’s mind was <em>what</em> was the Hood planning. However, he couldn’t ask and he dad couldn’t continue his story before a group of guards appeared at the end of the corridor and came charging towards them.</p>
<p>They were each carrying a weapon- a taser, John noted- and they were likely aware that the devices on their necks had been removed.</p>
<p>But their weapons didn’t stay in their hands for long, as Jeff moved forward and with one arm raised, he flung the tasers out of their hands and sent them clattering across the hallway.</p>
<p>They didn’t have a chance to grab them as John stepped in. In a way that he had missed this past week, he lifted their bodies off the floor and sent them careening through the air and into the closest metal wall.</p>
<p>Most of them stopped moving and sat slumped against the wall. The ones who got up were soon sent down again with a well-timed punch in the face from Virgil. Jeff then moulded the wall around them and bent the metal over their arms and chests to keep them in place, should they wake up, and then moved to keep going down the hall.</p>
<p>John hesitated as another question he had came blaring into his mind. Jeff seemed to notice as he stopped and turned to John, only to follow his gaze down to the men trapped in the wall.</p>
<p>“You’re probably wondering how I could use my powers despite the implant, right?”</p>
<p>John nodded and so did Virgil, who was evidently thinking the same thing as him.</p>
<p>“So, you know how the Hood has had you two and everyone else in that workshop building?” As Jeff began to speak, he started to move back down the hallway again. The two of them followed, and soon John realised that they were heading in the direction of the workshop. “Well, he’s had me building things since the moment I got here. Starting with this place.”</p>
<p>He gestured to the walls around them, and John then caught onto why it was all made of <em>metal</em> of all things.</p>
<p>“Obviously I’m better off with using my powers, so he disabled my implant to allow me to work, and only when I was working. It would still shock me if I tried to remove it, so it was still partially functioning, but somehow didn’t detect if I used my powers on it. Probably because it was programmed to not detect my powers at all.”</p>
<p>Jeff paused both in his words and his steps as he peered around the next corner. Once seeing that the way was clear, he continued.</p>
<p>“One day when I should have been working, I realised that with my powers I could disable the implant. So I did, but I left it in so no one would realise it wasn’t working.”</p>
<p>“But what about before,” John interjected. He remembered getting shocked just moments before they left their dad, and he swore his dad got the same treatment. “I thought you got shocked too.”</p>
<p>His dad turned away from where he was facing the long hallway in front of them to look at John, and he <em>laughed</em>.</p>
<p>“I may not have been very good at <em>theatre</em> when I was at school, but I at least know how to act like I’m getting an electric shock from some buffoons.”</p>
<p>He winked at John and was grinning so wide at him that John couldn’t help but give him a small smile back once he caught onto what his dad meant. He briefly forgot about the situation they were in and was reminded of what he’d missed.</p>
<p>Although, that moment didn’t last long, as they entered the final corridor and between them and the double doors that led into the workshop, were more guards than John had time to count.</p>
<p>He really didn’t have time, because as soon as they set their eyes on the three of them, they were charging.</p>
<p>The fight with these guards began in much the same fashion as the last one. Jeff and John worked on sending the guards to the ground with Virgil waiting as backup, none of them wanting to get close if it wasn’t necessary.</p>
<p>However, they were so distracted by the guards in front, that they failed to notice the ones approaching from behind. Not until Virgil took a tasing to the back.</p>
<p>He cried out and fell to one knee, and John whipped around in concern. Thankfully, Virgil’s powers made him a tad more tolerant to pain and he barely flinched under the electric current.</p>
<p>His muscles were taut and his veins almost bulging, but he slowly stood and turned with no more than a grunt. The barbed darts were ripped out of his back and thrown to the floor.</p>
<p>Before the guards could shake off the shock of Virgil’s resilience, he was pouncing on them.</p>
<p>Those that didn’t immediately meet the end of Virgil’s wrath aimed their tasers at him in a feeble attempt to stop him, but John tore them out of their hands before they could use them. It didn’t take long before they were all down.</p>
<p>John and Virgil were a little out of breath by the end of it as it was a bit more than they had endured this past week. Jeff seemed less affected, but John figured that was because he was used to still being able to use his powers.</p>
<p>“We’re almost there.” Jeff turned to keep moving down the hall and toward the double doors, only pausing slightly to make sure that the two of them were still following, which they were.</p>
<p>Once the three of them were through the doors, Jeff immediately turned back around and bent them and the walls around them to seal them shut and made them difficult to open. John and Virgil both moved a couple of the workbenches to work as a barricade for extra measure.</p>
<p>Now that they were in the workroom, John didn’t know where they were going next. Their dad led them through the large room, empty and dark without the usual business of people working.</p>
<p>They moved passed all the benches and John was close to asking their dad where exactly it was that they were going, but before he could they approached the back of the room.</p>
<p>John realised that he had never come this far back in the room before, because on the wall that stood before them, there was a shutter door that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. It was like what you’d find in a loading bay of a warehouse, and John had never noticed it was back here.</p>
<p>Their dad quickly moved to the side of the door and began to fiddle with a panel. His movements were more frantic than they had been before. He was appearing more anxious by the second, and John wondered just what it was that had their dad so on edge.</p>
<p>“Dad,” John slowly approached Jeff, cautious not to startle him even though he knew they were there. “Why did you bring us here? What’s behind that door?”</p>
<p>Jeff turned. The door was now rising slowly and making a low rattling sound as it did so. When Jeff was facing them, there was a grim expression on his face.</p>
<p>He opened his mouth, hesitated, and then closed and reopened it. Like he was almost too scared to say what it was.</p>
<p>“In that room,” he finally said. “Is what the Hood has been planning all along. It’s what we need to stop, because if we’re too late… it could destroy everything.”</p>
<p>He didn’t explain any further and instead abruptly headed back to the door. Now, it was high enough for the three of them to walk under, so Jeff walked into the room and the two of them followed.</p>
<p>Once they were in the room, John already knew they were too late.</p>
<p>Or at least he presumed they were, as the room they stepped into was completely empty.</p>
<p>It looked much like the workshop in terms of size, but there were no benches or tools or machines in here. It was just a long, empty room.</p>
<p>“We’re too late,” Jeff’s voice was ever so quiet as he confirmed what John had thought. “He’s already started.”</p>
<p>“What’s started, dad?” Virgil walked up to their dad and put a hand on his slumped shoulder. “What has the Hood been planning?”</p>
<p>Jeff was quiet for a long moment. John wasn’t entirely sure whether he was going to respond to them at all, but he did eventually move, and the look he gave them was filled with so much fear and worry that John almost wished Virgil had never asked him the question.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>what has the hood been planning I wonder..</p>
<p>also you finally get to see what Jeff's powers are!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Alan</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So with this story I've obviously messed with the timeline of the show a bit, the main difference being that Jeff's only been missing for two years rather than eight. But also Jeff held onto the TV-21 for longer than he did in the show, so Alan was old enough to know what it was before it got lost.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alan was sat, cross armed and cross legged, on one of the sofas in the living room, sulking. The pout on his face was so big he was almost sure it would be enough to summon one of his big brothers over to him to find out what was wrong. They had a sixth sense when it came to knowing when something was wrong.</p>
<p>But no one came. They were all too busy in the training room, practising their powers that <em>he</em> should have.</p>
<p>It was all so unfair. He was the only one out of their brothers, out of their <em>family</em>, that didn’t have any powers. He was the odd one out, and it sucked.</p>
<p>He was forced to watch every day as his dad and brothers headed off to another rescue while he had to stay behind. The only solace he had was that Gordon had to stay behind too as he was still too young to join in on the rescues, but Gordon had had his powers longer than all of them, so he didn’t really count.</p>
<p>Alan let out an unintelligible grumble in the hope that somehow it would be heard by someone. However, the person who ended up appearing wasn’t who he was intending to summon.</p>
<p>“What’s up, grumpy pants?” His dad said as he came to sit next to Alan on the sofa.</p>
<p>“It’s not fair!” Alan didn’t hesitate to get into his frustrations and spill what had been stewing in his mind now that someone was here to listen. “Why don’t I have any powers yet?”</p>
<p>“Ah, so that’s what this is about?” Jeff chuckled as he realised what was up with his youngest, which Alan didn’t appreciate. His problem was very serious and shouldn’t be laughed at. “Allie, you’ll get your powers when the time is right, you know that. There’s no need to rush.”</p>
<p>Alan’s frown deepened even further, if that was possible.</p>
<p>“But everyone else has them! I’m the only one left!”</p>
<p>“Well, Scott only just got his, so you’re not that far behind.” His dad was still smiling down at him. Alan was still frowning.</p>
<p>“That was years ago. Three years to be exact.” Alan had been counting. Every moment that he wasn’t like his brothers had dragged on.</p>
<p>His dad’s face fell as he took in what Alan had said. He seemed thoughtful as he worked out whether that was true.</p>
<p>“Huh, I guess time really does go by fast.” Jeff rubbed his face when he realised Alan was right. “But remember that you’re still younger than both Virgil and Scott were when they got their powers. There’s still plenty of time to get yours.”</p>
<p>“I don’t want to wait, though!” Alan’s legs were still crossed, but his arms were now in the air as he gestured with a mixture of frustration and annoyance. “Why did they get theirs first? Why do I have to wait? It’s not fair!”</p>
<p>He repeated the last bit in a hope that it would somehow change things. Like it would drive his point home and his dad would miraculously change things, even though he knew that was impossible.</p>
<p>“I know, Alan.” Jeff put his hand on Alan’s shoulder and in his anger Alan almost pushed him off. But his dad looked practically as upset as he did, so he didn’t. “But these things come when they’re ready, when <em>you’re</em> ready. You just have to wait a little longer, and when your powers come it’ll be worth it.”</p>
<p>Alan didn’t reply. He knew his dad was ultimately right; he just didn’t want to believe it.</p>
<p>“Oh, I know!” His dad suddenly perked up, which caught Alan’s attention. “Brains has just finished maintenance on the TV-21, and I was about to go and give it a test ride. Want to come?”</p>
<p>This really brightened Alan up and had him practically climbing into his dad’s lap in excitement.</p>
<p>“Really? I get to come?” Alan didn’t believe him; his dad rarely took anyone along with him in the plane. Even his brothers would normally just ride in one of the birds on their way to a rescue. It was rare that one of them got to go in their dad’s prize possession.</p>
<p>“Sure, I don’t see why not!” Jeff grinned at Alan, and Alan knew he wasn’t kidding. “You can keep me company. I’ll just be flying around the island a few times to check that everything’s in order. So, is that a yes?”</p>
<p>“Yes!” Alan was out of the chair before he’d even answered. He was so excited to have something to do, something even his brothers didn’t get to do, he ran from the room, barely slowing down when his dad told him to wait up as he headed towards the hanger.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When Alan reached the hanger, he immediately saw Brains next to his dad’s favourite plane. Alan didn’t get to go down to the hanger much as it wasn’t somewhere he needed to be, plus he wasn’t allowed to go there alone, so seeing the vehicles that were stored there never ceased to amaze him.</p>
<p>The hanger was massive and on the other side of it he could see the various Thunderbirds, sitting and waiting for their next rescue. But the vehicle in front of him was Alan’s favourite, mainly because it was his dad’s favourite- the TV-21.</p>
<p>The long silver and gold ship was rarely used now they had the other vehicles to get them around the world, but their dad still loved to fly it when he could find an excuse.</p>
<p>“Oh, hello, Alan.” Brains was standing next to the ship and had been intently staring at a tablet in his hands, but he looked up when he saw Alan approaching. “What are you doing down here?”</p>
<p>Alan opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off before he could.</p>
<p>“I said he could join me on the test flight,” his dad said from behind Alan. He sounded out of breath from having to hurry after Alan. “I hope that’s alright?”</p>
<p>“Uh, if you think it is, then yes, it’s fine. It’s your ship, after all, Mr Tracy.” Brains sounded slightly hesitant, but Alan only paid attention to the fact that he was allowed to tag along.</p>
<p>“I put my trust in you, Brains. You wouldn’t let any of us fly something you built without making sure it was one hundred and fifty percent safe beforehand.” Jeff flashed a reassuring smile at Brains and then directed his attention to the tablet still in Brains’ hands. “So, tell me about the upgrades you’ve made.”</p>
<p>Alan tuned them out at that as he wasn’t interested in the work the genius had done. He just wanted to know when he could get in the plane.</p>
<p>He turned to the plane in question and started to make his way along it, taking in all the colourful details of the outer body of the ship. If Alan could, he would run his fingers along it just to see what it felt like, but it was too tall for him and sat higher on the ground than he could reach. So, he had to settle on just staring at it for now.</p>
<p>Brains really did a remarkable job on all the ships he designed, even Alan could see that, and Alan was in awe of his talent.</p>
<p>His dad had told him that Brains had superpowers like them, which was why he was so smart and talented, but Alan always just thought that he was so smart because he read a lot of books, like John. If anything, the only superpower he should have is the ability to be immune to boredom after reading so much.</p>
<p>Alan’s wandering led him to the nose of the plane, which was one of Alan’s favourite parts that he loved to look at.</p>
<p>Painted on the front of the plane was his dad’s name, just beneath the words <em>TV-21</em>, in fancy, white letters. Alan wasn’t too sure why his dad wanted to write his name on the side of the plane, but if Alan ever got his own ship, he’d want everyone to know it was his, too.</p>
<p>“Alan!”</p>
<p>Alan’s attention was back on his dad, who seemed to be finished talking to Brains and was now waiting on Alan to come back over.</p>
<p>Alan didn’t want to make him wait, so he hurried back over to him, barely remembering to not run in the hanger.</p>
<p>Jeff gave Alan a flight suit to wear and donned one himself as well. Once they were both suited up and ready, they <em>finally</em> headed into the ship.</p>
<p>The inside of the ship was just how Alan remembered it and he eagerly moved into the seat next to the pilot’s, which his dad sat in a moment later.</p>
<p>“All strapped in?” His dad twisted in his chair and reached over to make sure that the buckle was done up, despite the fact that Alan had already made sure it was secure. “Remember not to touch anything, alright? I may act like this is all fun and games, and it can be, but also it can get quite dangerous if we’re not safe, yeah?”</p>
<p>“I remember, dad! I’m just gonna sit and watch.”</p>
<p>These were words that Alan had heard before; he knew how dangerous flying in the sky could be. When Jeff had first told Alan that, it had scared Alan quite a bit. But now he was fine with it, because he knew with his dad flying, everything would be alright.</p>
<p>“Everything’s set then; let’s head out!” Jeff smiled at him and Alan grinned widely back. He just had to wait for his dad to do his pre-flight checks, and then they were heading out onto the runway.</p>
<p>When they shot off into the sky, Alan could barely contain his squeal of excitement. He always forgot how fast his dad’s plane could go, and he unconsciously gripped onto his seat as it built in speed. He wasn’t scared though, he was thrilled.</p>
<p>His dad took them around the island a couple of times before Brains’ hologram appeared on the console.</p>
<p>“How is it handling, Mr Tracy?”</p>
<p>“Beautifully, Brains. You’ve done an excellent job.”</p>
<p>Alan could see Brains slump in relief, but he didn’t know why Brains was nervous. Everything he made was perfect.</p>
<p>“We will just fly around for a bit more and then head back.”</p>
<p>“FAB.”</p>
<p>Brains’ hologram disappeared a moment later and Alan couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. It felt like they had only just got in the air and it was already almost over.</p>
<p>“Hey, Alan,” his dad said quietly, like he didn’t want anyone around them to hear. Which made Alan confused as they were the only two there, but he leant in closer anyway. “Want to go on a little adventure?”</p>
<p>Alan nodded eagerly. He didn’t know what this adventure was going to entail, but if it meant he got to spend more time alone with his dad then he knew it would be fun.</p>
<p>Out of the window, Alan could see them turn around and fly off in the opposite direction and head further across the ocean.</p>
<p>Barely a minute later, Brains reappeared.</p>
<p>“Mr Tracy, where are you going?”</p>
<p>“Just a little further out, Brains. I want to show Alan what this baby can really do.”</p>
<p>Alan didn’t think the ship could go any faster, but he was wrong.</p>
<p>This time Alan really couldn’t contain his shriek as he was pushed back into his seat. The grin on his face was wide as he saw the ocean and tiny islands fly by out of the window.</p>
<p>“Uh, Mr Tracy, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I think you should come back now.” Brains sounded worried, but Jeff didn’t seem to notice, so neither did Alan.</p>
<p>“We’re not gonna go far. I’m not going any faster than-”</p>
<p>“No, Mr Tracy. You <em>have</em> to turn around and come back! My readings here say that there’s something wrong with the ship!” Brains was looking at something outside of the camera. When Alan looked up at his dad, he also seemed a little worried now.</p>
<p>“Alright, I’ll turn back.” Jeff was frowning as his hands moved across the controls, but he was still calm, so Alan knew there was nothing to be scared of. Until-</p>
<p>“That’s not right.”</p>
<p>“What is it?” Brains was back to looking at them and he pushed his glasses to the top of his nose.</p>
<p>“I can’t turn around. Or slow down.”</p>
<p>Even Alan, who was still a kid, knew that wasn’t good.</p>
<p>“Are you sure you can’t stop? You’re gaining in speed!”</p>
<p>Brains didn’t need to say that for Alan to have realised it. Everything out the window was becoming a blur as they got faster and faster. Alan’s grip was back on his seat, but now it wasn’t from excitement.</p>
<p>“This doesn’t make any sense. I checked this in the simulations several times and these problems never came up.” Brains was moving back and forth but his hologram stayed where it sat on the console as it tracked his movements around his lab.</p>
<p>“There’s no time to dwell on that now, Brains.” Jeff’s hands didn’t stop as they flew across the controls, pushing buttons that Alan didn’t know what they did. “I think we’re going to have to bail.”</p>
<p>“Dad?” Alan couldn’t keep quiet any longer. He had no idea what was happening and he needed his dad to tell him it was all going to be alright.</p>
<p>His dad suddenly turned to him like he only just remembered that Alan was there.</p>
<p>“Hey, Alan.” His dad was smiling at him, which didn’t fit the mood inside the plane. “You need to listen to me, okay? We’re going to need to eject, so we’re going to head down to the capsules and launch from there, alright?”</p>
<p>Alan nodded shakily. His dad had explained this to him before in case something bad would happen, they had practised this.</p>
<p>Jeff unbuckled his seat and then helped Alan out of his. He led Alan out of the cockpit and into the compartment that help the escape capsules. The plane rocked under the speed, especially now there was no one piloting it, and Alan had to keep a grip on the wall to stop from falling over.</p>
<p>When they reached the capsules, Jeff opened one and then turned to Alan.</p>
<p>“There’s only room for one person per capsule, so you will go in this one and I’ll be in the one next to you.”</p>
<p>Alan stepped into the cylindrical shaped capsule and sat down on the one seat that occupied most of the space.</p>
<p>As his dad leant forward to strap Alan in, it finally settled in just what was happening.</p>
<p>“Your ship…” Alan couldn’t help but mutter sadly.</p>
<p>“I know.” His dad looked just as sad as Alan felt as he finished strapping him in, but he didn’t leave just yet. “But it’s old and we have new ships now. Maybe it’s time to say goodbye to her.”</p>
<p>His dad sighed and he stood up straight again.</p>
<p>“I’ll get into my capsule and launch us both from there, but if the capsule gets stuck, just press this button right here.” Jeff pointed to a red button on Alan’s right, and Alan nodded to show he understood.</p>
<p>Jeff ruffled Alan’s hair and then left to get into his own capsule. The door slid shut in front of Alan, and Alan stared out the glass window at the ship that he was about to see for the last time.</p>
<p>“Hold on tight, Alan.” His dad’s voice startled Alan as he spoke over the speaker situated in the capsule. Alan did as he was told and gripped onto the straps that came down his shoulders. “Launching in three, two, one…”</p>
<p>Alan squeezed his eyes shut as he prepared for the sudden feeling of being shot out of the plane. However, after several, long seconds he didn’t feel anything. He only heard a loud noise that came from just outside his capsule.</p>
<p>He slowly peeled his eyes open and he felt his stomach drop when he realised he was still in the plane. The noise he heard must have been his dad launching his capsule, which meant that Alan’s was stuck.</p>
<p>Remembering what his dad told him, Alan reached out and hit the red button.</p>
<p>He still didn’t launch.</p>
<p>Panic started to consume Alan as he furiously hit the button over and over in a hope that it would finally work. It didn’t seem to do anything though, and he had no idea what to do now.</p>
<p>His dad was gone and he was left on his own in a plane that was about to crash. He could feel the speed start to pull at his limbs now and if he wasn’t strapped into his seat, he was sure the force would keep him in it anyway.</p>
<p>There was a throbbing growing behind his eyes and his head was beginning to hurt. Outside of the escape capsule, he could <em>hear</em> how the plane was shooting through the sky. Everything around him was rocking, and the erratic movements were making him feel sick. He just hoped that he wouldn’t throw up; otherwise the speed might just cause it all to be sent back in his face.</p>
<p>Alan closed his eyes and tried to take deep breaths and stay calm, just like his dad always told him. When he opened his eyes, despite him not moving in his seat, everything around him was blurry, like either he or the capsule was moving rapidly.</p>
<p>His eyes settled on the red smudge that was the button his dad told him to press. He had no other options and his only hope was that it would work.</p>
<p>Alan lifted one of his hands back towards the button, but it was like his limbs weighed as much as Thunderbird 2. He had to fight against the invincible force as he reached for the launch button.</p>
<p>The way his vision blurred meant he missed the button several times, but eventually he managed to grasp onto it, and with all his might he pushed it one last time.</p>
<p>Everything strangely went slow for barely a second, and Alan wondered if this was what crashing felt like, but suddenly he was being thrown about as the capsule finally shot out of the ship.</p>
<p>Out of the glass window it got brighter as the afternoon sun reflected off the sea. Alan flew through the sky and steadily slowed down when a parachute opened above him.</p>
<p>Right at that moment, Alan caught a glimpse of the TV-21 as it hit the sea, and as Alan was slowly lowered to the ground, the plane slowly sunk under the water.</p>
<p>Alan was breathing heavily and he knew he was shaking, but as he looked down at his hands, they were fuzzy, despite everything else around him now looking clear.</p>
<p>Now that Alan noticed, his whole body looked blurry, almost see-through. He shook it off, though. His mind was racing and he found it difficult to focus on one thought at a time.</p>
<p>Abruptly, the capsule lurched and then stopped moving. Alan looked out the window and could see leaves dangling just outside.</p>
<p>Alan fumbled with the seat’s straps and when he was free he stood on shaky legs that could barely hold his weight. He slid the door open and stumbled out of the capsule.</p>
<p>He fell out into what seemed to be a forest and he looked up to find that the parachute had gotten caught on a tree. The sound of waves crashing on a shore was close and Alan found himself stumbling towards it.</p>
<p>He tripped and was suddenly on a sandy beach. Alan looked up in confusion, wondering how he got there so fast. The sea stretched out in front of him and after glancing around, Alan realised he had landed on a small, uninhabited island. The smell of salty seawater helped clear his thoughts a bit.</p>
<p>“Alan?” A voice suddenly appeared out of nowhere and it took Alan a moment to realise there was a comm on his wrist. “Alan?”</p>
<p>“Scott?” Alan immediately recognised his brother’s voice. He lifted his wrist right up to his face and desperately spoke into it. “Scotty, where are you?”</p>
<p>“In Thunderbird 1, on my way to you. I’ll come get you and then we’ll go get dad,” Scott’s voice chimed again over the comm.</p>
<p>“Dad? Where is he?” Alan sat up at the mention of his dad, who he hadn’t seen since he’d stepped out of Alan’s escape pod.</p>
<p>“He landed not too far from you. He’s alright, what about you.”</p>
<p>“I-I’m fine.” Alan’s voice croaked and he could feel the familiar lump in his throat that showed he was about to cry. He tried to keep the tears at bay, but it didn’t work. “Scott-”</p>
<p>“Hey, hey, Allie. It’s alright, I’m almost there. Just a couple of minutes away. Can you hold on for me until then?” Scott’s voice over the comm was comforting and knowing that his big brother was so close calmed him down a bit.</p>
<p>“Y-yeah.” Alan wiped a tear out of his eye, but caught another glimpse at his still fuzzy hands.</p>
<p>He must have stared at them until Scott arrived, watching his fingers quickly move in and out of focus, wondering just what this all was and what it meant for him now.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>-Alan needs to make sure he stays on a good diet because the nature of his power means he burns a lot of calories and he needs to avoid things like low blood pressure, etc.<br/>-As Alan has had his powers the shortest amount of time, his powers aren't as strong as his brothers' and there are still things he is learning to do. He can run up walls but not over water (yet..maybe one day :D)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Brink of Disaster</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter got very out of hand and ended up longer than I intended..</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alan looked out the window of Thunderbird 2 as they approached the city. The bright lights of Tokyo would have certainly been something to see on any other day.</p>
<p>But today their attention was drawn to the people on the streets, running in the opposite direction to which they were flying.</p>
<p>There were screams, but they were drowned out by the loud thuds that came from further in the city.</p>
<p>Alan had heard that sound before, but this time it was louder, like it was many sounds accumulating into one.</p>
<p>His thoughts became true as they reached the centre of the city and they saw not one, but fifty, maybe one hundred, building-high robots terrorising civilians and destroying the streets of the city.</p>
<hr/>
<p>“Robots?” Virgil didn’t mean to sound so shocked, after all it was something they’d already dealt with not that long ago. He just wasn’t expecting it to happen again, especially not to this extent.</p>
<p>“That’s what the Hood has been making us build for him?” John asked their dad. “Like the one we fought before?”</p>
<p>Their dad nodded in confirmation.</p>
<p>“So it really was the Hood that was behind it.” Virgil had been suspecting that for a while, as did the rest of his family, but having it confirmed was something else. “But we dealt with one before. Now we know how to stop them, it shouldn’t be too hard to take these down as well.”</p>
<p>“No, it won’t be that easy.” Jeff scratched his head and then wrung his hands together. “See, that one you fought before was a test, to see how easily you could take it down and find any weaknesses in the design. These ones are nothing like it.”</p>
<p>“So, what is he planning on doing with them?” Virgil asked one of the many questions swimming in his head.</p>
<p>“They’re likely already in Tokyo right now. If all goes to plan, he will soon have control of the city, and not before long, the world.”</p>
<p>Virgil and John were quiet for a long moment as they took in that information. If they <em>were</em> late like their dad said, then they had no idea how they would stop it now. Especially since they were stuck here and they couldn’t go out and help.</p>
<p>“So let me get this straight,” John finally spoke. “The Hood has been getting us to build these robots, you most of all.”</p>
<p>He pointed to their dad, and Virgil was finally understanding why the last bot reminded them so much of their dad’s crafts when they were kids.</p>
<p>“And he’s sent them all to one of the biggest cities in the world, in the hope to take over the world.” John had been gesticulating with every word, but then his arms fell to his sides as he turned to their dad. “But what I’m not understanding, is why you have only just decided to stop him, dad. Clearly you are capable if you’ve had the use of your powers for a while, so why only now?”</p>
<p>Virgil wasn’t sure if John was accusing their dad of something or it was just one of many questions they had asked their dad that day, but either way Jeff looked like he had been expecting that particular question.</p>
<p>“Because I couldn’t do it alone.” Their dad’s head was hung low, almost guiltily, almost <em>ashamed</em>. “I needed help, but I don’t know who else to trust here. I thought with you two here, we could stop him together, but the Hood was just that one step ahead again.”</p>
<p>He took a deep breath and then lifted his head to meet their eyes. “It’s not like I haven’t tried to stop him, but the Hood is like us. He has powers too; some sort of mind control that could have easily stopped me on my own. But he has a weakness. He can only use it on one person at a time. So together is the only way we can stop the Hood.”</p>
<p>“How, though? You said it yourself, we’re too late. We’re stuck here. Even if we knew how to escape, there’s no way we can make it to Tokyo on time.” Although, now that Virgil thought about it, he had no idea where they were in the world. For all he knew, they could have been in Japan right now.</p>
<p>“Actually, being here might work to our advantage.”</p>
<p>“What do you mean?” John raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side ever so slightly.</p>
<p>“Well, the biggest difference between the new bots and old one is that the old robot’s systems were all internal, which meant that it could be shut down on site. That won’t be possible with these new ones, because they are all controlled from here.”</p>
<p>“So we can shut them down from <em>here</em>.” Virgil was catching on to what is dad was saying. A small smile slowly crept onto his face at the hope it wasn’t all over.</p>
<p>“Exactly.” His dad’s smile matched his.</p>
<p>“Where exactly are they being operated from?” John asked, keeping logical.</p>
<p>“I’m not sure, but I have an idea.”</p>
<p>Their dad led them back out of the empty room and once again into the dark workroom.</p>
<p>They walked across the room until they ended up at the set of stairs that took them to the same room they’d seen the Hood in, on their very first day here. Virgil hadn’t seen the Hood since that day, and it made him wonder what he had been doing all this time. Whether he had been in that room the whole time, watching them.</p>
<p>Jeff was the first one up the stairs and Virgil and John were directly behind him.</p>
<p>Their dad burst the door open, which was a stark contrast to the guard who had timidly knocked on the door the last time they were here, and much the same to how their dad had entered their room not too long ago.</p>
<p>When Virgil stepped into the room, he instantly noted the biggest difference to the room this time he was in it.</p>
<p>Where there had once been nothing in the room except for a desk and a chair, now one of the bland walls was occupied by a hundred different screens.</p>
<p>And where the Hood had once sat behind the desk, he now stood in the centre of the room watching the screens.</p>
<p>When he heard the three of them enter the room, he slowly turned towards them.</p>
<p>“Jeff Tracy. I was just waiting for when you’d show up.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>Gordon steered Thunderbird 2 to another street in the city, looking for people to pick up. Although he enjoyed the chance to rescue people, no matter who or where it was, right now he was quite frankly <em>bored</em>.</p>
<p>He knew he should be lucky Scott let him out on this rescue at all, it was just no fun being stuck on pick up duty.</p>
<p>Scott did have a point, though. He still hadn’t fully healed from the injuries he’d sustained just a few weeks ago, and he knew the only reason he was allowed to come was because they were stretched so thin and this mission was so big. This was his safest bet at not reinjuring himself; he just wished he could do <em>more</em>.</p>
<p>Gordon sighed, but then he shook himself of his feelings. This was not about him; there was a whole city to save.</p>
<p>Gordon caught sight of a family running down the street. A moment later, one of the big robots appeared around the corner of a building nearby.</p>
<p>Gordon twisted the ship in the direction of the family and quickly lowered the row of seats stored in the module once he was hovering over them.</p>
<p>“Get in!” He yelled over the speakers attached to the chairs, hoping that if they didn’t speak English, they’d at least get the message.</p>
<p>Sure enough, they did, and after giving them ample time to get themselves strapped in he scooped them away. He narrowly missed the hand of the robot as it swiped at the bird in the sky, and then he headed toward the edge of the city.</p>
<p>Once he reached a safe enough distance away from the chaos, he found a place to land Thunderbird 2 and made his way to the module.</p>
<p>He helped the family out of their seats and led them out of the module after it had been lowered to the ground. The family went on their way to find a safer place to reside in until this mess was cleared up, and Gordon headed back to the cockpit to do it all again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Gordon did the same run several more times. The GDF had arrived at the city not long after them, and had soon set up an area that the civilians of Tokyo could find refuge in until the situation had cleared up, which Gordon would take them to.</p>
<p>He was just turning back to the centre of the city after dropping off another group of people. Tokyo was starting to look more and more destroyed each time he flew through it, and he was beginning to worry about what would happen to the city of they couldn’t stop this soon.</p>
<p>Gordon was too busy taking in the destruction around him, he almost flew right into a robot as it suddenly appeared and tried to hit the green ship out of the sky.</p>
<p>Gordon managed to fly out of the way in time, but then almost clipped a wing on the closest sky scraper.</p>
<p>He let out a sigh of frustration as he pulled up and out of the risk of flying into something else. He didn’t know how long he could do this for; Thunderbird 2 was not built for flying around giant robots trying to hit things out of the sky.</p>
<p>It was not going to be safe for him to transport people he was meant to save through the city, when he was flying this behemoth. If he wasn’t able to help this way, then there was only one way he could help, much to his family’s dismay.</p>
<p>Decision made, he spun the ship around and headed back towards the GDF refuge on the outskirts of the city.</p>
<p>On his way, he opened the comm link to the island.</p>
<p>“Hey, Grandma. I’m gonna land this thing and head back into the city on foot. There’s too much happening for it to be safe flying in anymore,” Gordon informed the woman who was monitoring the situation back at the island. He should tell someone of his change of plans, and he’d rather it be someone who wasn’t nearby to stop him. Plus, she’d soon be wondering why he was leaving Thunderbird 2 anyway.</p>
<p>“Is that good idea, Gordon?” His Grandma sounded sceptical, and it was understandable, but whether Gordon was still injured or not, there were still people to save.</p>
<p>“I’ll be more helpful on the ground.” Gordon was already landing Thunderbird 2 next to the GDF planes. Once he was out, after switching the comms from the ship to his suit, he gave a nearby GDF officer the request to keep an eye on the bird.</p>
<p>He didn’t wait for a reply before he was speeding off on an ice path.</p>
<p>As he headed back into the centre of the city, he heard a sigh over the comms.</p>
<p>“Stay safe,” his Grandma said a moment later, knowing that nothing she said or did was going to stop her grandson. Gordon appreciated that, and it made him smile.</p>
<p>“I’ll certainly try.” If his Grandma could see him, he would have winked at her, but as he couldn’t he hoped it came across in his voice.</p>
<p>All Gordon got in return was a soft laugh, which meant he had done his job, and he continued to smile as he closed the comms and slid off into the city.</p>
<hr/>
<p>“Jeff Tracy. I was just waiting for when you’d show up.” The Hood’s hands moved behind his back as he faced them. “And it’s a family reunion too, I see.”</p>
<p>He had that same sly grin on like he always had, but at the mention of Virgil and John, his mouth twitched slightly. It gave John a bit of pleasure, knowing that the Hood hadn’t expected the two of them to be there too.</p>
<p>“I knew you would try to stop me, but you’re too late.” The Hood turned back to the screens, and from here John couldn’t quite tell what was happening on any of them. “It’s already started. All you can do now is wa-”</p>
<p>His next words were cut off as his body was flung across the room and behind the desk at the back of the room.</p>
<p>Virgil and Jeff spun around to see John, who was tired of the Hood’s villainous monologue, lowering his arms back down to his sides.</p>
<p>“What?” John asked when he saw them staring with wide eyes. “Did you want me to wait for him to finish?”</p>
<p>After a moment, they shook off the shock with a short laugh, and moved back into action.</p>
<p>“Right. Virgil, go and make sure he is incapacitated. John, help me see if we can find out how to disable this,” Jeff gestured to the screens.</p>
<p>“FAB,” Virgil and John replied in unison, not even thinking about what they said.</p>
<p>Their dad stopped in his tracks at that phrase and went quiet. John was worried, until he saw the small smile creep onto his dad’s face.</p>
<p>He turned back to his task before anything could be said, and John moved to join his dad.</p>
<p>Now that John was in front of the screens, he could finally see what was happening on them.</p>
<p>There was video footage on each screen, and it was all different but similar. Like they were filming the same event but from different angles.</p>
<p>John settled his gaze on one of the screens. The footage on it appeared to have been filmed from something very big, as it was almost level with a tall, glass office building. The camera panned away from the building and towards the rest of the street and the city it was in.</p>
<p>From what he saw, John immediately realised that the city was Tokyo, and the footage was coming from the Hood’s robots.</p>
<p>It made sense, that the Hood would be watching what was happening if he needed to control it all, but it still sparked a question in John.</p>
<p>“This footage- it’s all live feed from the robots?” He asked his dad.</p>
<p>“Mhmm,” his dad hummed in confirmation, his gaze not straying from the footage as he watched it too.</p>
<p>“Did… did that one we fought before have a camera too? Were you watching us back then?”</p>
<p>His dad was silent as he watched the screens, but then, after a long moment, he nodded and said, “He made me watch.”</p>
<p>He finally turned and faced John, and gave him a watery smile as he put his hand on his shoulder.</p>
<p>“It was nice to see you all working together again.”</p>
<p>John couldn’t imagine what that was like, to not see his family for two years, only to watch them fighting for their lives at the hands of a madman, unable to do anything about it.</p>
<p>Even now, watching the screens, he found one showing a glimpse of Thunderbird 2 as it flew by in the sky. Knowing that his brothers were out there and he couldn’t go and help them was killing him, but he could only imagine how much worse it had been for his dad back then. At least this time they could do <em>something</em>.</p>
<p>A grunt from across the room reminded John of his brother’s task. John tore his gaze away from the screens and his dad who was attempting to pull up the holographic control panel, and looked over to Virgil who was still crouched on the other side of the room.</p>
<p>“Virgil, did you manage to-”</p>
<p>Virgil was clutching at his head. He rose at John’s words, and as his eyes settled on John, John knew something was wrong.</p>
<p>Virgil’s eyes looked glassy, unfocused, and before John had time to question it, Virgil was darting around the desk and headed straight towards John.</p>
<p>John barely had time to process what was happening. Virgil’s fists were raised as he came towards him, and it was instinct that told John to raise his too.</p>
<p>Before Virgil had a chance to reach him, John’s hands were out and preventing Virgil from taking a step closer. Past Virgil’s shoulder, John could see the Hood pull himself up from where he had previously been slumped at the back of the room, his gaze firmly on Virgil.</p>
<p>John then realised that the Hood was controlling his brother.</p>
<p>John had never been on the receiving end of Virgil’s strength before, he had only ever witnessed the effects of it, but right now he was getting it in full force. Virgil threatened to break through John’s power that was keeping him back.</p>
<p>It felt like John was holding up an invincible wall, and every second Virgil pushed against it, the bricks would start to crumble.</p>
<p>John could feel his knees start to buckle, but he wouldn’t relent. He could throw his brother across the room like he had done to the Hood, but he didn’t want to hurt him. Not that he thought he would be successful after the power Virgil was sending his way. All he could do was hold Virgil back whilst his brother was only a couple of feet away from throwing a punch at him, under the control of a <em>villain</em>.</p>
<p>John pushed Virgil back some more and Virgil’s feet slid across the ground. However, he only moved slightly and was stepping forward again immediately. His fists inched closer to John, and John didn’t know how much longer he could hold his brother back.</p>
<p>Suddenly, Virgil stood up straight and was no longer pushing. John stumbled, almost falling forward under the lost resistance.</p>
<p>John frowned, wondering why the Hood would abruptly hold his brother back.</p>
<p>“Virgil?” John asked quietly, hoping that Virgil had somehow managed to break control.</p>
<p>But his brother’s eyes still looked distant and as he turned away, his movements seemed robotic.</p>
<p>John was wondering what Virgil was going to do now, or rather what the Hood was going to make him do, and he was curious as to why he was turning away.</p>
<p>Until he saw him face the one other person in the room.</p>
<p>John didn’t think, he just acted.</p>
<p>John pulled the desk across the room at the same time Virgil threw himself at their dad. Before Virgil could reach Jeff, the desk slammed into his side and knocked him off his feet.</p>
<p>John hoped the impact hadn’t hurt his brother too badly, but he knew Virgil would understand his need to not let the Hood hurt their dad any further.</p>
<p>Virgil pushed himself up and stumbled slightly. John was ready for whatever he was about to do next, but instead of moving to attack again, Virgil stayed where he was.</p>
<p>His brow knitted in confusion and he shook his head as if to clear it. When he looked up at John, his gaze managed to hold onto his like it hadn’t before.</p>
<p>John let out a breath as he relaxed slightly, realising that Virgil was released from the Hood’s hold. But then the implications of that was suddenly John’s top concern, and he was quickly spinning to face the Hood.</p>
<p>The Hood was glaring at Virgil. His teeth were clenched, and even from across the room John could hear him breathing heavily through his nose. It was like using his powers was taking a lot out of him.</p>
<p>He then noticed John staring at him, and his eyes moved from Virgil and locked onto John’s.</p>
<p>John could feel his heart plummet as the Hood’s gaze shifted from a glare back to a smile. Before John could do anything, he felt his whole body seize up, and then he felt nothing.</p>
<p>It was like he had taken a step out of his body. His mind was there, but his limbs and body were out of his control, like he was sat in the backseat of a car and someone else had taken the wheel.</p>
<p>He could see everything that was happening, but when he tried to move, nothing would happen. He felt his hands lift and he saw his head move down to look at them, but it was not him moving.</p>
<p>Which meant that he couldn’t stop what happened next.</p>
<p>John could only watch helplessly as the Hood made him turn back towards Virgil, who was watching John with a worried gaze that John was sure must have been on his own face just minutes before.</p>
<p>There was no warning. Virgil had no time to steel himself before John’s arm was being raised, and someone who was not him was throwing his brother out the window of the office.</p>
<p>John heard the glass shatter and the loud thump as Virgil hit the floor of the workroom, but he didn’t see it. His head had already turned away, and he was now facing his dad.</p>
<p>His dad had seen the whole thing, but it had all happened too quickly to do anything about it. And now John had to watch as his power was turned on his dad.</p>
<p>Jeff was not thrown like Virgil, but rather he was lifted off the floor as John, from a distance, grabbed him by the neck.</p>
<p>Jeff’s eyes went wide and he began to claw at his neck as he gasped for a breath. But he couldn’t stop it, because the cause of the problem was out of reach.</p>
<p>And there was nothing John could do except watch as his own power destroyed what he had just gotten back.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Alan skidded to a halt as he turned onto the next street.</p>
<p>As expected, there was yet another robot down here, too. It was picking up abandoned cars off the road and throwing them at the nearby buildings. One of them hit a digital billboard and sparks flew as loose wires fell to the floor.</p>
<p>Beneath it, Alan noticed that there was a person hunched in the entryway of the building closest to the robot. They were lucky that the robot hadn’t seen them yet, but that still didn’t mean they were safe from falling debris.</p>
<p>It took only a second for Alan to reach the person. They looked up in shock at Alan’s sudden appearance, but relaxed slightly when they realised who he was.</p>
<p>“Hi, I’m Alan from International Rescue. What’s your name?” Alan smiled reassuringly at the other person as he moved to crouch in front of them.</p>
<p>“Joey,” the person replied. He looked to be only a few years younger than Alan, and his eyes were wide and his hands were on his head as if to protect himself from falling debris.</p>
<p>Joey’s face was dusty from the debris around him and there was a little blood on his forehead, but other than that he appeared to be alright.</p>
<p>“Okay then, Joey. I’m going to get you somewhere safer, alright?” Alan waited until he got a shaky nod in return before he stood back up. He held out a hand, which was quickly taken by Joey as he helped him stand up.</p>
<p>“Things are about to get really fast,” Alan explained as he got himself into position next to Joey. He grasped onto his arms and put a hand on the back of his head. “Just remember to breathe, and maybe keep your mouth closed unless you want to eat a bug.”</p>
<p>A moment later, Alan was speeding through Tokyo with Joey in his grip. Running down the streets was made difficult when there was destruction laying in the way, but he was easily able to jump over or divert around it.</p>
<p>Less than a minute later, Alan had reached a safer part of the city. He slowed down to a jog, and as soon as they had stopped and Alan let go of Joey, Joey immediately bent over.</p>
<p>His hands were on his knees and he was breathing quickly, but then he suddenly stood up straight with a wide grin on his face.</p>
<p>“That was awesome!” He huffed between breaths.</p>
<p>“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Alan chuckled at his enthusiasm. “Usually, people throw up after they experience it for the first time.”</p>
<p>“Can we do it again?” Joey grabbed Alan’s shoulders, and Alan was a little sad that he was going to have to spoil the kid’s happiness.</p>
<p>“I would, but I’m kind of in the middle of something.” Alan gestured to the city around them, which was falling bit by bit.</p>
<p>“Oh, right. Yeah.” Joey sounded disappointed, but understanding.</p>
<p>“Around the corner up there should be a refuge point that the GDF set up.” Alan pointed in the direction he believed it to be in, and Joey’s gazed followed his finger. “They’ll keep you safe and let you know what to do until this is over.”</p>
<p>“Okay,” Joey nodded at the information. “Thanks for saving me, by the way.”</p>
<p>“It’s all part of the job,” Alan grinned. It was always a nice feeling to be reminded that there were actually people they were saving when they left home every day. It was even better to know that most appreciated it too.</p>
<p>Once Alan saw Joey off, he decided to check in with what the rest of his family were doing.</p>
<p>“Scott, Kayo,” he said after he’d tapped the iR logo on his sash. “You two had any luck yet?”</p>
<p>“Negative.” Alan could hear Scott exhale as he sighed deeply. “These machines are nothing like the one we saw before. We can’t find any way to disable the shields like we did last time, and if we can’t disable the shields…”</p>
<p>“We have no idea how else we’re meant to stop them,” Kayo continued for him. “Almost like whoever made these knew that.”</p>
<p>That was what Alan had noticed, too. These robots looked almost identical to the one back in New York, and they acted the same way, which was basically to just destroy everything in their path. However, these ones had no panel to access and disable their controls. Which was the only way they could stop it before, and whoever made these was apparently aware of that one previous flaw in their designs.</p>
<p>“How are you getting on, Alan?” Scott asked, which brought Alan’s attention back to the open comms.</p>
<p>“I’ve managed to get a few people out of the city, but the streets are looking pretty empty now.” Alan looked around the deserted street he was on. “I think everybody who wants to get out, is out.”</p>
<p>When they had all first arrived at the danger zone, Scott, Kayo and Alan had all split up across the city whilst Gordon had taken Thunderbird 2 to rescue anyone he could see from the sky. Alan had also headed off to find people from the ground, whereas Scott and Kayo had tried to find a way to stop the robots from destroying any more of the city.</p>
<p>But now that they had no idea how to stop it, Alan was at a loss of what he was meant to do now.</p>
<p>“Just keep an eye out for anyone who might be hurt and needs help,” Scott said, like he was reading Alan’s mind. “We’ll keep trying to shut these things down. Let us know if you find anything.”</p>
<p>“FAB.”</p>
<p>Alan closed the comms and headed back to the heart of the city, where most of the robots still were, to see if he could try to find a way to stop all this mess.</p>
<p>That was when Alan saw something on the street ahead of him. It was white and shimmered when the sun reflected off of it.</p>
<p>Alan jogged over to it and when he reached it, he immediately saw that it was a streak of ice. It spread across the intersection he was standing on, from his left all the way up the road to his right.</p>
<p>With an amused smile, Alan reopened the comms. But this time, with someone new.</p>
<p>“Hey, Gordon, where’s Thunderbird 2?”</p>
<p>By the pause he received, Alan knew Gordon wasn’t expecting to be caught out.</p>
<p>“Where are you?” Gordon finally spoke after a long moment.</p>
<p>“Standing next to your trail.” Alan stepped on a piece of the ice, and it crunched under his boot. “If you wanted to be subtle, maybe don’t freeze the street.”</p>
<p>“Alright, I’m heading back to you.” Alan chuckled as Gordon hung up on him without another word.</p>
<p>Barely a couple of minutes passed before Alan saw Gordon heading down the street towards him. Alan ran the rest of the way to meet him.</p>
<p>“Scott’s gonna be mad when he sees you down here,” Alan told his brother when he reached him.</p>
<p>“Scott’s on the other side of the city, what can he do to stop me?” Gordon shrugged and crossed his arms, but Alan didn’t miss the small wince as he put pressure on his still healing ribs.</p>
<p>“You really should listen to him, though. I don’t think-”</p>
<p>“I’m fine, Al.” Gordon stopped him before he could finish. He put his hand on Alan’s shoulder and tried to reassure him with a smile, like he always did. Alan really didn’t think he was just <em>fine</em>, but he did trust him to be smart enough to not put himself into any further danger. They did need as much help as they could get.</p>
<p>“Alright,” Alan reluctantly let it go. The two of them turned to the street ahead of them and started to head back the way that Gordon had just come from. “Then, do you have any idea how we’re meant to stop this?”</p>
<p>“Honestly, no. But if we don’t come up with something fast, soon there will be no city left to save.”</p>
<p>It was a grim thought, but a true one. They were seriously outmatched here. It didn’t help that they were without John and Virgil, although Alan wasn’t all that sure it would make much of a difference. These robots were stronger, bigger and there were a much higher number of them.</p>
<p>As the two of them made their way through the city, it was clear that Gordon’s statement was much closer to the truth than they would ever like it to be. Buildings were collapsing, streets were unusable. Tokyo’s entire infrastructure was on the brink of being irreparable.</p>
<p>“Alan, watch out!”</p>
<p>Alan’s arm was grabbed as Gordon pulled him quickly to the side of the street. A second later, a big, metal foot stepped right where the two of them had been walking.</p>
<p>Alan looked up at the big hunk of junk that had appeared out of nowhere. It was looking down at the two of them, and abruptly swiped at them with one of its gigantic hands.</p>
<p>“Move!” Alan wrapped his arms around his brother and without further warning, he ran.</p>
<p>He narrowly pulled the two of them out of the way, but he didn’t get far before they reached another robot that was blocking the end of the street with the debris of what once was a skyscraper.</p>
<p>Alan quickly spun on his feet and ran back the other way, turning onto a side road to get away from them.</p>
<p>However, no where he turned was safe. The next street was filled with robots and debris rained down on the two of them. Alan had to weave around it all to avoid getting hit, until he eventually darted into an untouched alleyway.</p>
<p>When he stopped, he set Gordon down, who immediately leant up against the wall and took deep breaths.</p>
<p>“Are you alright?” Alan asked him worriedly, and thankfully Gordon nodded.</p>
<p>“Yeah, just- coulda warned me you were gonna do that,” Gordon said between breaths.</p>
<p>“Sorry,” Alan apologised, but Gordon just brushed him off.</p>
<p>Whilst he waited for his brother’s breathing to even out, Alan took a peek out the end of the alley. There were at least four robots that Alan could see just on this street alone.</p>
<p>“There’s too many of them,” Alan said when he went to stand next to Gordon. Gordon had regained his breath and was standing straight again. “If we can’t even stop one, how are we meant to take down all of these?”</p>
<p>“Maybe we could lead them somewhere? Like, get their attention and draw them into a trap?” Gordon suggested.</p>
<p>“What kind of trap?” That didn’t sound like a terrible idea, and Alan was intrigued. “Like the ocean?”</p>
<p>The look Gordon gave him showed Alan just what he thought about that idea. Alan should have known how Gordon would feel about dropping tons of metal into the ocean.</p>
<p>“As much as I <em>love</em> that idea, they’re probably waterproof anyway. Plus, the coast is too far. I don’t think we could get their attention for that long.”</p>
<p>They both went silent as they tried to think of something else. Then Alan was struck by an idea.</p>
<p>“What about a net? We could- stop giving me that look!”</p>
<p>Gordon had been giving Alan the same look he’d given him at his last suggestion; judgemental and ready to shoot it down before he’d even finished. But at Alan’s annoyance, he raised his hands and the look was wiped from his face.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry. Continue.”</p>
<p>Alan did so. “If we could set something up, we could lead them to it and trap them. That’ll stop them until we can find out how to shut them down.”</p>
<p>“Al, I don’t want to be a Negative Nancy, but this sounds just like your ‘trip them over with a rope’ suggestion. Where are you going to find a net so big?”</p>
<p>There was a crash above them that had them suddenly both flinching as small bits of debris dropped around them. Alan looked up towards the source of the noise and could see dust flying through the air from the crumbling building. He frowned as he looked up at it, but that wasn’t what he was concentrating on.</p>
<p>Instead, he was concentrating on Gordon’s words, and that was when he was struck by a thought.</p>
<p>His eyes widened and he quickly faced Gordon again, who was watching him with a furrowed brow as he waited for an explanation. Alan grinned.</p>
<p>“I have a plan. Where did you leave Thunderbird 2?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m heading back to you now. I’ve got a lot of them following me, so you better be ready.”</p>
<p>“I’m just securing the final cable.” Alan tied the end of the steel rope around a secure pole and then ran across the street in a zig-zag pattern, weaving through the buildings and then back out again to the other side of the street. He secured the end when he’d used up the cable, and then stepped back to view his work.</p>
<p>Alan had used several of the spare, and some not so spare, cables that were left in Thunderbird 2’s module and had strung them across the street. They went from left to right and wrapped around buildings and street lamps to keep them taut and in place. It looked just like a large tripwire, which was just what he was trying to achieve.</p>
<p>“All done,” Alan said to Gordon.</p>
<p>“Good, ‘cause I’m right around the corner.”</p>
<p>Gordon didn’t need to say that for Alan to know he was close. He could hear the thunderous steps of several robots making their way towards him. The ground rumbled beneath his feet, and over the shorter buildings he could see their heads as they concentrated on chasing his brother.</p>
<p>Gordon, who just a moment later flew around the corner of a building and sped down the street towards Alan. Not even a second later, a hoard of robots came tearing after him.</p>
<p>They were running, their massive, heavy feet slamming loudly behind him, and Gordon was sliding, on a slope of ice that carried him just out of their reach.</p>
<p>When Gordon reached the cables, he darted over them. Alan’s heart was racing as he watched, waiting for when the first of the robots would reach the cables.</p>
<p>However, as soon as they reached the first cable, the rope just snapped and the robot didn’t even slow down.</p>
<p>“It’s not stopping!” Alan yelled at Gordon, panicked now that their plan wasn’t working.</p>
<p>“What?” Gordon sounded worried too.</p>
<p>“The cable just broke!” This wasn’t good. Gordon was leading so many of the bots towards them, and with how close they were Alan didn’t think either of them would be able to get out in time before they reached them.</p>
<p>But then one of the cables did snag and caught the robot’s foot, and the robot finally began to fall. But also, Gordon was still too close to it.</p>
<p>Alan didn’t hesitate as he darted forward and ran to his brother. Gordon was still on his trail of ice in the air, and Alan had to run up the side of the building nearby to reach his level.</p>
<p>He kicked off the wall, everything slow around him as he grabbed his brother out of the air, and when his feet hit the ground, he hit it running.</p>
<p>He dashed out of the way of the falling robot, but he didn’t make it far before the robot’s body slammed into the street.</p>
<p>The impact was strong as tons of metal hit the concrete, and it shook the ground so hard that Alan was launched off his feet and Gordon flew from his arms.</p>
<p>Alan spun in the air before he also hit the floor. He rolled several times with the momentum until he eventually came to a stop. The ground continued to rumble beneath him, though, and he laid there until it got quiet again.</p>
<p>When it did all settle, Alan slowly sat up, a little dazed and achy, and he looked around to see what had happened.</p>
<p>The robots that had been following Gordon were in a tangled pile in the street, having evidently tripped over each other. Which meant that their plan had worked.</p>
<p>Alan smiled at their success and he looked around for Gordon to see his reaction.</p>
<p>He found his brother laying a little distance away, and the way he was curled up made Alan realise something was wrong.</p>
<p>“Gordon?” Alan called to him as he moved to stand up. However, he fell back down at the pain that shot through his ankle when he put pressure on it.</p>
<p>Alan stretched out his leg in front of him to look at it. It was hard to know what was wrong with it without taking off his boot, but he was reluctant to do so when he was still in the middle of a rescue. He didn’t think it was broken, because he knew what that felt like and this didn’t feel quite so bad, but it would still be too painful to walk right now.</p>
<p>He needed to make sure that Gordon was alright, though. So, he pulled himself onto his knees and crawled over to his brother, ignoring the twinges of pain that assaulted his ankle every time he moved.</p>
<p>When he got closer to Gordon, he could see that his eyes were squeezed shit and his arms were wrapped around his chest.</p>
<p>“Gordon? What’s wrong?” Alan put his hand on Gordon’s arm to let him know he was there.</p>
<p>Gordon’s eyes shot open, but he relaxed slightly under Alan’s hand when he realised it was just him.</p>
<p>“Maybe…Scott was…right. Shoulda stayed…in 2.” Gordon’s breathing was laboured and Alan soon realised what was wrong.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, you should have. I told you it was a bad idea. You better hope you didn’t re-break your ribs,” Alan reprimanded.</p>
<p>“Wouldn’t have done that…without me.” One hand was waved lazily in the direction of their trap, before he winced again.</p>
<p>That was true, Alan had to admit that. He looked back up at the tangled mess of the robots. They were likely out of commission now, which was good. What wasn’t good was that this was only a small number of the robots in Tokyo. They would have to repeat the process several more times to stop them all, and Alan didn’t see either him or Gordon being able to help any further.</p>
<p>As if on cue, another robot appeared at the opposite end of the street.</p>
<p>“We need to get out of here.” Alan moved to help Gordon up, but was reminded why that was a bad idea when his ankle throbbed again. Not to mention how Gordon winced when he sat up.</p>
<p>They couldn’t get up and so they couldn’t get away. They were running out of ideas and time as the robot noticed them in the middle of the street and started to charge towards them.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Virgil groaned as he sat up. He rubbed his head as he slowly pushed himself to stand up. Broken glass crunched under his feet, and he had to shake small fragments of it from his clothes.</p>
<p>His mind was clearing up now, the fog that clouded his brain after the Hood had released him now dissipating.</p>
<p>That was when Virgil was struck with the horrid reminder that he’d left his brother and dad up there with that man. Not only that, John was now under his control and Virgil could only imagine what the Hood would do with a power like his.</p>
<p>Virgil quickly moved back to the stairs that would take him back to the room, but on his way he passed a workbench that had a small pile of some sheets of metal, a couple of feet long, dumped across it.</p>
<p>With an idea planted in his head, Virgil grabbed some of the metal sheets and headed back to the room.</p>
<p>When he was near the top of the steps, he stopped. He tried to hear what was going on, but it was eerily quiet. He wanted to peek into the room to see what was going on in there, but he was worried the Hood would see him. Virgil did not appreciate the idea of being thrown out a window again.</p>
<p>So, without hesitating a moment longer, he burst through the door.</p>
<p>What was on the other side was almost enough to stop Virgil in his tracks.</p>
<p>Both his dad and John were in the same spots Virgil had last seen them. Although, now John had one hand stretched out, his dad was struggling to breathe as his feet hovered above the floor, and in the back of the room the Hood was watching it all with a gleeful look on his face.</p>
<p>That was the look that kept Virgil moving. All he had wanted to do since he first saw this man was to wipe that smile off his face, and this was his chance. He could finally stop him for good.</p>
<p>Virgil ripped out one of the sheets of metal from under his arm and called:</p>
<p>“Dad!”</p>
<p>He hoped he wasn’t too late and his dad was still coherent enough to understand him.</p>
<p>Thankfully, his dad’s eyes flickered to him right as he flung the metal across the room.</p>
<p>Jeff’s hands moved away from his neck and towards the metal that flew towards him. His hands never touched it, but he guided it to the back of the room, where the madman who had started all this stood.</p>
<p>The Hood had been keeping most of his attention on John, so he didn’t see what was coming for him before it was too late.</p>
<p>He didn’t have time to react before the piece of metal hit him right in the face. His concentration knocked, the Hood let go of his hold over John, who in turn let their father go.</p>
<p>Jeff’s feet hit the floor, and although he stumbled with the air that suddenly rushed back into his lungs, he didn’t let that stop him.</p>
<p>As he drew in quick, deep breaths, Jeff continued to move the sheet of metal. Once it had hit the Hood, it had latched onto his head and started to wrap around the back of his skull. It looked ironically like one of the helmets one of the Hood’s goons would wear.</p>
<p>The Hood had yelled out in shock and anger when he had first been hit, but now the metal was over his face, his voice was muffled behind the piece that covered his mouth. His hands were clawing at the metal, trying to get it off.</p>
<p>“Virgil!”</p>
<p>Virgil’s attention was drawn back to his dad.</p>
<p>“Hand me the rest of those.” His dad was still panting as he pointed to the rest of the metal sheets that Virgil was holding. Virgil handed them over quickly, but he still kept a concerned eye on his dad.</p>
<p>Jeff took one of the pieces and wrapped it around the Hood’s flailing hands, keeping them pinned together. With the final piece, it went flat against the Hood’s chest and pinned him up against the back wall.</p>
<p>The Hood continued to flail and tried to break free, but now his movements were restricted, and he would be trapped until Jeff set him free.</p>
<p>“He can still breathe in there, but he shouldn’t be able to use his powers without being able to see what’s going on.” Jeff turned away from the Hood to face them again. He was still breathing a little heavier than normal, but it had steadied out a lot.</p>
<p>Virgil still stepped forward to make sure he was okay.</p>
<p>“Do you have any other injuries?” He asked as he examined his dad’s neck. It looked red and would probably bruise, but his breathing and voice sounded fine, so Virgil didn’t believe there would be any lasting damage.</p>
<p>“Virgil, I’m fine,” his dad brushed him off with a smile, but one of his hands lifted to rub at his throat, and Virgil made a note to make sure his dad got looked at as soon as they got out of this.</p>
<p>“Dad, I’m so sorry!” John suddenly appeared next to Virgil. He moved towards their dad, but stopped before he could touch him, and his hand’s hovered over him like he was scared to make contact.</p>
<p>“There’s nothing to apologise for.” Jeff was quick to make the connection instead. He put a hand on John’s shoulder and Virgil could see him give it a light squeeze.</p>
<p>“Let’s try and stop this then, shall we?” Their dad turned back to the wall of screens that were still flickering with various footage from Tokyo.</p>
<p>John moved to follow their dad, but Virgil moved in to stop him. As the resident caretaker of the family, he needed to check in with everyone.</p>
<p>“John, are you alright as well?”</p>
<p>“I still feel a bit weird from the Hood’s control, but other than that-”</p>
<p>“No,” Virgil stopped him. He knew what the effects of being under the Hood’s power was like, so it was good to know that John was fine from that, but it wasn’t that of which he was referring to. “I meant are you- did I hurt you?”</p>
<p>John looked at him, confused for a moment, before he realised what Virgil meant.</p>
<p>“No, Virgil, you didn’t.” He gave him a small smile and Virgil relaxed. “Don’t worry, I can hold my own against you. Although, I don’t think I’d want to get into a fight with you anytime soon.”</p>
<p>Virgil chuckled along with his brother, and then the two of them finally joined their dad at the screens.</p>
<p>This was the first time Virgil had gotten a look at what was going on in Tokyo, and what he saw was worse than anything he could have imagined.</p>
<p>Many of the buildings had collapsed, debris filled the roads, and smoke was coming from fires in the distance. The only thing that was relatively good about it was that it was barren of people. That meant the civilians of Tokyo had gotten out safely, but also for such a busy place, it just looked <em>wrong</em> to see Tokyo so empty.</p>
<p>Virgil also caught a couple of screens that were filled with static or were flickering on and off. It made Virgil wonder what had happened there, and had him hoping that his brothers had something to do with it.</p>
<p>“We need to figure out how to stop them,” their dad said as he managed to pull up the holographic console in front of the wall. “These controls are all confusing; I don’t know what will stop the robots from what will make them cause more destruction.”</p>
<p>“What if we just smash it all up?” Virgil suggested, but Jeff just shook his head.</p>
<p>“No, we don’t know if destroying the controls will actually stop them. It might just leave us unable to shut them down from here.” Jeff scratched his chin, before moving his hands back to the control panel. “I’m going to try something.”</p>
<p>He closed his eyes before Virgil or John could ask him to explain further, and Virgil decided to leave him to it and let his dad concentrate.</p>
<p>Virgil turned back to the screens to watch what was happening out there. They were mostly displaying the same thing; robots destroying everything in their path. But then something on one of the screens caught Virgil’s eye, and he wanted to direct John’s attention to it.</p>
<p>“Hey, John, is that…” Virgil trailed off as he pointed to the screen, where there was a speck of a familiar blue.</p>
<p>“That’s…it’s Gordon and Alan,” John confirmed what Virgil had suspected. It was clear now that it was their two youngest brothers, because as the camera got closer to them, he could see their yellow and red sashes and their blond hair.</p>
<p>But then it suddenly occurred to Virgil <em>why</em> they were getting clearer on the screen. It was because the robot was <em>running</em> at them, but they weren’t moving out of the way.</p>
<p>
  <em>Why weren’t they moving?</em>
</p>
<p>Virgil’s eyes went wide and he could hear the sharp intake of breath from John next to him as he watched what happened too.</p>
<p>There was nothing the two of them could do but watch as their brothers sat huddled on the ground, as the robot got closer and closer.</p>
<p>However, the screen abruptly went black, as did all the others around it.</p>
<p>Virgil’s heart was hammering in his chest and he couldn’t work out what had happened. Until, his dad opened his eyes again and stepped back from the console.</p>
<p>The screens all suddenly turned back on, just as quickly as they had switched off. Virgil was afraid of what he’d see when they came on, but he was relieved to see that his two brothers were still there, just as they’d last seen them.</p>
<p>And Virgil was also relieved to see that all the screens were still. Nothing was moving. It was like the robots were frozen.</p>
<p>“You shut them down?” Virgil asked his dad, just to be sure.</p>
<p>“They’re not shut down completely. I just managed to stop their previous commands. This way, they can still be operated from here and will make things easier when it comes to clearing them out of Tokyo,” their dad explained. Virgil watched as his dad’s eyes tracked the screens until his gaze settled on the one Virgil and John had been watching. A small smile crept onto face.</p>
<p>“So, what do we do now?” John’s question brought both Virgil and their dad out of their staring. Jeff looked thoughtful for a long moment, before his eyes lit up and he was reaching for the controls again.</p>
<p>“There’s one thing that the Hood made me build into these machines that I think might help.”</p>
<p>Virgil watching him with a mix of confusion and intrigue, and then he noticed on the screen that Showed Gordon and Alan, the camera was moving again.</p>
<p>From the angle of the camera, Virgil could tell that the robot was kneeling down. An arm was extended towards his brothers, and then after a few more moments, a little hologram of his brothers appeared above the control panel.</p>
<p>Both Gordon and Alan looked nervous at the sudden movement of the robot who was coming near them again, but they soon realised that a comm link had been opened in the palm of the robot’s hand. And more importantly, who was on the other end of the connection.</p>
<p>“Virgil? John?”</p>
<p>“What are you-”</p>
<p>Whatever they were about to say next was cut off as their faces quickly turned from happiness to pure bewilderment.</p>
<p>They stared in silence for a long time at the three of them, not just two, <em>three</em>, before they both finally uttered out the same word.</p>
<p>“Dad?”</p>
<p>And the joy in their voices was enough to give Virgil a face splitting grin that stretched from ear to ear.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Scott’s palms were sweaty as he gripped tighter onto Thunderbird 2’s controls.</p>
<p>He couldn’t believe that this was happening. He wasn’t even entirely convinced that it <em>was</em> happening.</p>
<p>They were actually on their way to see their <em>dad</em>. Not only that, he was with their two brothers who had been missing as well. He hadn’t been sure he would see any of them again, and to know that they were all together and alive and well was a bit overwhelming.</p>
<p>After their dad and brothers had contacted them, with the help of the GDF they had tracked their location to some tiny island off the coast of South Korea. Scott had bundled his brothers and Kayo back into Thunderbird 2 and had headed off over the ocean along with several GDF ships as well.</p>
<p>Kayo was now in the med bay with Gordon and Alan, and Scott was honestly thankful to be alone for a bit so he could process his feelings.</p>
<p>These last two years had been the longest two years of his life. With his dad suddenly going missing and having to quickly adapt to the new head of International Rescue role on his shoulders, not to mention trying to keep his family safe and in one piece, although he knew he had failed at that more than once.</p>
<p>But knowing that his dad had spent those very years as a prisoner of the <em>Hood</em>, it made what Scott went through sound like a breeze.</p>
<p>Scott was jolted out of his thoughts when he reached the island and soon came on approach to a little building in the centre of a clearing in the trees.</p>
<p>There wasn’t much space to land as the GDF had gotten there first and there was only a small space for Scott to land the ship.</p>
<p>Once the ship had landed, Scott’s heartrate began to pick up. He was both nervous and excited, and he didn’t want to waste another second without being with <em>all</em> his family again.</p>
<p>Scott exited the pilot’s chair and headed to the infirmary. Both his brothers looked a lot better than they had when Scott had found them in Tokyo, and they were already up and waiting to go- Alan with a crutch under one arm and Gordon being propped up by Kayo.</p>
<p>Under normal circumstances, Scott wouldn’t have allowed them to leave until they were back on the island, but these weren’t normal circumstances. Besides, Scott knew they would find a way to get out anyway, and Kayo would help them.</p>
<p>With Gordon, Alan and Kayo in tow, they made their way to the lift and exited Thunderbird 2.</p>
<p>Around the little building, there were GDF personnel walking in and out of the small metal structure that upon closer inspection appeared to be a bunker entrance.</p>
<p>Scott paid them no mind, however, as he only had eyes for three certain people.</p>
<p>He saw Virgil first.</p>
<p>“Virgil!” He called out to his brother, who turned to him immediately.</p>
<p>Scott ran the short distance to his immediate younger brother and enveloped him in a bone crushing hug. When he pulled away, Scott found John right behind Virgil and he gave him the same treatment.</p>
<p>By the time he stepped back, Scott could hear Gordon, Alan and Kayo as they caught up to him, but his attention was quickly drawn towards the man he just saw coming out of the bunker.</p>
<p>He looked older, greyer, but he had the same features and the same smile on his face as his eyes locked onto Scott’s.</p>
<p>Scott only stood there for a moment to take it in before he was rushing over to his dad. He embraced him in a hug much like the one he gave Virgil and John, but this one was tighter and one he never wanted to let go from.</p>
<p>He soon felt more arms wrap around him as his brothers joined in on the group hug, and for the first time in a long time, his family finally felt whole again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>It is done! I hope you all enjoyed this au!</p>
<p>Some powers that I never had the chance to explore in the story:<br/>Kayo - Invisibility<br/>Lady Penelope - Ability to make people tell her the truth<br/>Parker - Quick reflexes<br/>Lucille - Ability to send people to sleep with her voice (by singing)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Bonus Chapter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lucille has to deal with five tired boys and a storm that is keeping them awake.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A bonus chapter!! Set before the events of the story, when the boys were smol.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lucille hushed the baby as she rocked him back and forth, but his crying wouldn't relent. He continued to wail as the rain pattered against the window, and he only got louder and more upset each time thunder crackled outside.</p><p>"Mommy?"</p><p>Lucille looked up to find her second youngest standing in the doorway to the living room. He was holding onto his cuddly squid and was rubbing his tired eyes.</p><p>"What are you doing up?" Lucille asked him as she tried to reposition Alan on her lap into a more comfortable position.</p><p>"The rain is scary," Gordon said with a fearful shake in his voice. He squeezed his squid closer to his chest. It was almost the same size as him, and he practically hid behind it.</p><p>Lucille was worried that the baby was what had woken him up, which was the main reason she had been trying to get Alan back to sleep, but she had forgotten about the raging storm outside that would scare her second youngest awake.</p><p>"Do you want a cuddle?" Lucille gestured to the spot next to her on the couch, and Gordon nodded quickly.</p><p>Gordon climbed onto the couch and tucked himself into her side, with his squid between them. Lucille wrapped her free arm that wasn't holding Alan around Gordon, and started rubbing soothing circles into his back.</p><p>Alan continued to cry in her arms, but since Gordon had arrived, it had lessened a little bit. She hoped that maybe he was finally tiring himself out.</p><p>Thunder clapped loudly outside the window and Gordon burrowed into her side more. She could feel him shaking, so she tightened her arm around him.</p><p>Through the noise of Alan and the raging storm outside, a few minutes later she heard the creaking floorboards of the stairs. She kept her eyes on the living room door, and sure enough, a few seconds later another face appeared in the doorway.</p><p>"What's with all the noise?" Scott yawned as he came into the room.</p><p>"Alan can't get to sleep because of the storm and neither can Gordon. I'm sorry if we woke you," Lucille apologised. She had been trying to keep the noise down, but she was so far unsuccessful with Alan, and there really wasn't anything she could do about the storm outside.</p><p>"It's fine," Scott shrugged as he came to join them on the sofa. He sat next to Gordon and also wrapped an arm around him, so his little brother was squished protectively between them. "The storm was loud anyway."</p><p>Just as the four of them were getting settled, Lucille shouldn't have been surprised when her two remaining sons came into the room shortly after.</p><p>"You two couldn't sleep either?" Lucille asked them as Virgil and John entered the room, holding hands.</p><p>Virgil shook his head.</p><p>"I heard Scott get up and went to check on Gordon and John because I knew they'd be scared. Gordon wasn't in his room, but John was awake. I figured you would all be down here."</p><p>Lucille smiled proudly at her son; whose first priority was always his brothers.</p><p>"Want to join us?"</p><p>Both of them were eager to climb up onto couch, on the other side of Lucille. John sat next to her and curled up as close to her as he could, and Virgil wrapped himself around his other side.</p><p>"Does anybody want a song?" Lucille offered after a moment. The storm had quietened down a bit and Alan had finally stopped crying, but she didn't think any of her sons would be getting to sleep anytime soon. At least not on their own.</p><p>Four heads nodded in unison. Even Alan let out a small gurgle that she suspected was a yes.</p><p>She chose a song that they had all heard before. A lullaby, that helped put them to sleep when they'd been sick or sad. She knew they all liked it, and so she started to sing.</p><p>The effect wasn't instantaneous, but as she looked down at each of her sons' faces, she soon saw eyelids start to droop and limbs begin to grow heavy and limp.</p><p>Before she'd reached the end of the song, all of them were asleep. She didn't stop, though, and when the song had finished, she moved onto another lullaby.</p><p>When that one was done and she was sure she had five sleeping boys in her arms, Jeff poked his head around the door.</p><p>"Are they all asleep?"</p><p>Lucille nodded and then looked back down at her boys, just to make sure they really were all out.</p><p>"Time to get this lot back to bed then."</p><p>Jeff then came over to them, and one by one he scooped one of their sons off the couch and deposited them back to their respective beds.</p><p>Soon, all Lucille was left with was a sleeping Alan in her arms. She put him to bed herself, and made sure to tuck him in his crib so he was cosy and warm.</p><p>Then, she made her way out of his room, and left him to sleep soundly in peace now that the storm was over.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>